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ZOROASTRIANISM AND JUDAISM 



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ZOROASTRIANISM 
AND JUDAISM 



GEORGE WILLIAM CARTER, Ph.D. 
n 

With an Introduction by 

CHARLES GRAY SHAW, PH.D. 




BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 



Copyright, 1918, by Richard G. Badger 



All Rights Reserved 



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MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA 



The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. 

JUN ~3 m 

©GLA497591 






PREFACE 

There is only a very meager literature on the sub- 
ject about to be discussed. An attempt will be made 
to give an outline picture of Zoroastrianism, and 
then of Judaism when it came to be somewhat a 
fixed system in the post-exilic times. This will enable 
us to make the further attempt to give the leading 
religious, social,and moral conceptions in Zoroas- 
trianism and Judaism, and to indicate under each 
heading something of the probable influence, or 
relation, of one system on the other. Throughout 
the whole discussion, the main sources of informa- 
tion will be the ancient literatures of the two re- 
ligions. They will be referred to, or quoted, freely, 
in order that authority may be given for all facts 
stated. 

It must be understood that no attempt will be 
made to interpret the exalted teachings of the Old 
Testament, as they are unfolded and revealed in the 
light of the New Testament. The author has firm 
convictions regarding the authority of the canonical 
Old Testament Scriptures. This treatise deals with 
those Scriptures in a period of time when they were 
incomplete and when those that were written were 
available only to a few. G. W. C. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 7 

Introduction 17 

I Zarathustra 23 

II Judaism 28 

III The Idea of Deity 41 

IV The Host of Heaven 55 

V Naturalistic Traits 69 

VI The Expectation of a Redeemer 77 

VII Civil, Social and Ceremonial Regula- 
tions 81 

VIII Morals and Ethics 92 

IX The Future Life 96 

X Conclusion 104 

Bibliography 107 

Index 115 



ZARATHUSTRA AND THE ZEIT-GEIST 



INTRODUCTION 

ZARATHUSTRA AND THE ZEIT-GEIST 

/~\UR war-consciousness, which has brought to 
^^the surface of the soul many a contradiction 
which time had seemed to submerge, brings Persia 
down to the present. Indeed, the ancient descent of 
Persia upon the Greek states, in accordance with 
the time-honored custom of warfare back and forth 
from east and west, is not without its analogies to 
the German attempt to subjugate the states which 
have allied themselves against the modern Xerxes. 
Because of the war, the contemplation of world- 
maps, the study of humanity's history, and the an- 
alysis of all human occupations have become objects 
of intensive study. The whole planet has been shak- 
en, and the dead have risen in arms. For this rea- 
son, the study of Iranian religion and the career of 
Zarathustra become timely topics; the Zend-Avesta 
has become a war-document. 

The intensity of the war has had the effect of 
obliterating those old lines of separation which have 
sought to make east east and west west; the geo- 
graphical, social, and spiritual direrhption of two 
hemispheres has been overcome; Orient and Occi- 
dent blend in one supreme militarism. In the past, 



8 Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 

Asia and Europe merely touched at the Dardanelles ; 
in the present, there is at least a pontoon-connec- 
tion between east and west. Lines of fire link Lon- 
don and Bagdad, military dispatches come from 
both Venice and Jerusalem, and the drab of khaki 
obscures the old-time color-contrasts of Asiatic and 
European modes. The Turk is in league with the 
Teuton, and Tokio may come to the aid of Paris. 
Those who come to an understanding with the times 
must not remain unacquainted with the biographies 
of Kaiser Wilhelm and Spitama Zarathustra. 

The fitness of Iranian intuitions for shedding light 
upon the religious and political conditions of pres- 
ent-day Europe cannot be questioned by those who 
know old Persia and modern Prussia. When one 
consults Confucianism, he is confronted by the stolid- 
ity of Chinese ideals and the retroactive character 
of Mongolian motives; hence his study of the ulti- 
mate orient can amount to no more than an objec- 
tive and scientific consideration of a useless and in- 
approachable faith. In the case of Brahmanism, 
there is similar defeat for him who would make 
practical use of remote ideals in religion. Doubtless 
there is much spiritual nourishment and intellectual 
enlightenment in Vedic beliefs, but the Hindu habit 
of indulging in aloofness and the tenuous nature of 
India's convictions conspire to make the contempla- 
tion of Vedic idealism a remote one. Their sky we 
cannot touch or their ideals analyze. China's im- 



Zarathustra and the ZeiuGeist 9 

penetrable earth and India's impalpable heaven are 
both beyond the religious reach of the western be- 
liever. In the instance of Persia, however, there is 
less of this Oriental silence, even when Iranian re- 
ligion is no less authentic; we ourselves are some- 
what Persian in our methods of believing and doubt- 
ing. 

The violent wrenching of the Iranian from the 
Indian has in it somewhat of that separatist spirit 
in which the west rejoices, while the inner contradic- 
tion of good and bad, which the Persian observed in 
the sky and felt in the heart, is the most essential 
thing in European religion. Long before Greek 
tragedy had seen man divided against himself and 
ere the inner contradictions of Christian ethics had 
entered the heart of man, Zarathustra had felt the 
dismay of a soul as a house divided against itself. 
For this reason, Persia, which lacks the extensive 
majesty of Mongolian faith and the intensive dignity 
of Indian idealism, becomes an ally of western be- 
lief; Zarathustra reveals the Zeit-Geist. 

Since the war is supposed to have sprung from the 
excessive egoism of the Teuton, the personality of 
Zarathustra becomes of special interest in the ever- 
intensifying days of conflict. If it is true that Ger- 
man giantism has developed by reason of the in- 
flammation of the moral gland in the German brain, 
it is worth while inquiring to what extent Persian 
ideals are responsible for the painful phenomenon, 
especially when so many point to Nietzsche, whose 



io Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 

chief work of super-ethics is entitled, Thus Spake 
Zarathustra. It is a question whether the egregi- 
ous egoism of Prussia has been displayed with con- 
sistency, or that the phenomena peculiar to its rough 
manifestation have been analyzed by its moral and 
military opponents; but the fact remains that the 
name of Zarathustra has been linked with that of 
the Kaiser, so that both Persia and Prussia are to be 
studied. Lifted from his original setting, Zara- 
thustra would feel as ill at ease in Germany as the 
'Moses' of Alfred da Vigny would have felt in the 
France of the 30's; but these great ones must work 
for their immortal living, so that Persia's spiritual 
leader must submit to resurrection in war-time. Re- 
ligion is supposed to be altruistic and pacific, but 
leaders of religion are often themselves noble ego- 
istic; such was the case with Moses and Zarathustra, 
with Christ and Mahomet, whose personalities pre- 
sent more than egoistic edge. Indeed, the whole 
range of individualism in its form of the superman 
is marked by the outlines of religion rather than by 
politics of warfare. 

Zarathustra as superman, and we have Niet- 
zsche's word for it, tends to lend balance to an un- 
certain moral situation. Those who indulge but 
moderately in analysis are wont to believe that the 
intrigues of diplomacy, the far-reaching plans of 
politics, and the violences of war are the meat on 
which the superman feeds : but those who have fol- 
lowed the career of this new person cannot hide 



Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 1 1 

from their eyes the fact that it is usually religion 
which supplies the superman with his daily allow- 
ance of heavenly manna. The superman is spiritual, 
rejoices in aesthetic ideals, and has a strength which 
lies within him. As already listed, Israel's law- 
giver and Irania's guide, Galilee's seer and Arabia's 
prophet are typical of the character which become 
such a puzzle for contemporary ethics. Those who 
have reduced the ethics of the superman to a kind 
of cult have ever made use of a quasi-religious mode 
of reasoning; Milton and Blake, Stirner and Dos- 
toievsky, Wagner and Ibsen found it necessary to 
pass by the Church when they went in search of the 
arch-ego. Such seers of the soul observe the super- 
man as a sort of heaven-storming person, who either 
is Promethean in his fire-snatching or Zarathustrian 
in the noble impudence with which he buttonholes 
the Almighty and interrogates the skies. Thus Zara- 
thustra questioned the supreme God, Ahura Mazda. 
In the role of ethical educator, Zarathustra as- 
sumes an aristocratic position when he with boldness 
delivers to his followers the ideals which he has se- 
cured from some superior source. This at once 
arouses the question concerning the source and sanc- 
tion of morals, and puts a sharper edge on contem- 
porary ethical calculations. According to orthodox 
utilitarianism, the virtues grew up gradually and un- 
consciously in connection with manifest utilities and 
in response to democratic demands. Originally loose 
in the form of interests merely felt, they tightened 



12 Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 

into so many virtues of moral import. The self- 
styled virtue which is its own reason could have no 
place in the practical system of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, whose moral reasoning was only abetted by the 
evolutionary idea of progress through limitless pa- 
tience and development in almost endless time. Vir- 
tue as a moral meteor which lands so mysteriously in 
our human field could have no place in a practical 
system which watched virtue grow by slow accretion 
and advance pari passu with so many felt wants of 
mankind. In some ways, Zarathustra tolerates such 
utilitarianism, and seems to contribute to the conten- 
tion that virtues arise practically when there is de- 
mand for them. In this half-utilitarian manner, he 
speaks of 'holy wood' and 'holy meat,' while he 
urges that 'holiness goes on thriving' where 'the cat- 
tle go on thriving.' Such picturesque utilitarianism 
seeks to lay down certain general principles to the 
effect that 'he who sows corn sows holiness,' which 
special maxim seems to spring from the natural 
synthesis of holiness and husbandry. 

But the morals of Zarathustra never abandoned 
their essential aristocracy, for the weight of author- 
ity which he laid upon the earth came from on high, 
and the pursuit of husbandry, far from being practi- 
cal and self-contained, was but a special form of holi- 
ness. On the aristocratic side of the strife between 
sanctions, Zarathustra unconsciously offers himself 
as proof that ethical excellence is from above; he 
himself was more the child of heaven than of earth. 



Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 13 

Morals do not spring up of themselves in the hearts 
of those who have interest in the virtues, but are 
framed above to be thrust down upon the stiff-neck- 
ed and slow-of-heart. Relief from slavery among 
African people arises as an idea in the heart of a 
white man, and the slowly progressing ideals of com- 
munism among the masses was once the isolated 
dream of some individual. Zarathustra's Persian 
populace know nothing of their chief good, since 
contact with earth has taught them nothing; their 
ideals of welfare, mundane though they be, are of 
heavenly origin. Having observed the Good in its 
totality, Zarathustra finds it expedient to indulge in 
certain practical applications of the ideal, and thus 
prepares for the Persians what in a less-plausible 
form Nietzsche has called 'master-morality.' Zara- 
thustra could not forego the desire to indulge in dic- 
tation, even when he points out to his people that 
which they might have thought out for themselves. 
As Moses sought the moral law at the summit of the 
Mount to apply it to the affairs of the desert, Zara- 
thustra sees the Good in idea before he applies it in 
fact, and concludes his moral reasoning by asserting 
that 'holiness is the best of all good.' 

In the position of revealer, Zarathustra offers 
practically the only rival which the seers of the Old 
Testament were to encounter. Passing over the 
extravagant claims put forth so sumptuously by Ma- 
homet, and which came at such a late date as to sug- 
gest some imitation, the conversations between Zar- 



14 Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 

athustra and Ahura Mazda cannot fail to suggest 
somewhat of that spiritual burden which the seers 
of Israel shared with Jahveh. Irania and Israel 
seem thus to have provided pockets for the treasures 
of the Most High. If the word of the Lord came 
to the high seers of Israel, it did not fail to pass by 
and swoop down over the head of Irania's chosen 
one, who like Cyrus seems to have been a step-son 
of the Almighty. But the 'revelation' which came to 
Zarathustra is strangely wanting in the kind of con- 
sciousness which tends to make an alleged communi- 
cation authentic. Zarathustra was too confident in 
his humanism, and stood too erect to be a genuine 
prophet. In contrast with Irania's sage, who re- 
ceives revelation only after he has sought it by ques- 
tions, Israel never took the initiative, but on the 
contrary presented deaf ears and dumb lips to the 
enforced revelation. Moses was reluctantly recipi- 
ent when the word of the Lord came to his ears, 
and pleaded ignorance and incapacity, voiced in the 
questions, 'Who am I ?' and 'by what name art thou 
called?' The prophet could receive the word only 
as he beat his brow upon the earth and suffered his 
lips to be seared by the seraph's live coals; and 
when, in his almost epileptic anguish he did speak, 
his words sought refuge in tortuous imagery, and 
his spirit, lifted up, tasted the bitterness and felt the 
burning of truth too strong for human conception 
and communication. Dignity there is in the message 
of Zarathustra, but no divinity of distance, for the 



Zarathustra and the Zeit-Geist 15 

Iranian seer spoke with confidence of such truth as 
he seemed to experience with Ahura Mazda. One 
may thus account for and accept the message of the 
Persian prophet by heeding it as the highest pitch in 
human register, but not the lower tones of revela- 
tion as such, even when Zarathustra may have had 
ears for just such music. 

Dr. Carter's monograph on Iranian religion is an 
exceedingly painstaking attempt to square accounts 
with a vision whose excellence is often neglected in 
the midst of more perfect spiritual enlightenment. 
Israel will be more highly prized and better under- 
stood after Irania has been duly apprised, while 
Moses will mean more after the strivings of a broth- 
er sage in another land have been evaluated. Dr. 
Carter's method is a sure-footed one; it advances 
cautiously from stone to stone of textual reference. 
Like a Persian rug, the Zend-Avesta is made up of 
many a bright strand, whose patient unweaving has 
been the work of Dr. Carter's study. In this, there 
is nothing that is semi-official, since Dr. Carter has 
dealt authoritatively with verified reports. It is to 
be hoped that his book will find a place not far from 
our ever-growing war-library. 

Charles Gray Shaw. 
New York University. 



INTRODUCTION 

"Follow you the star that lights a desert pathway, 

yours are mine, 
Forward till you see the Highest Human Nature is 

divine. }> 

v — Tennyson 

In the year 1700, Thomas Hyde of Oxford, the 
great orientalist of his time, made the first systematic 
attempt to restore the history of the old Persian re- 
ligion and its prophet. In 1771, Auguetil Duperron 
of Paris published the first European translation of 
the Avesta. Little progress was made in the study 
of Zend literature until within a comparatively few 
years, and even now the names of those who have 
become eminent in the study hardly exceed half a 
dozen. As for a comparison between Zoroastrianism 
and Judaism, the most that has been done may be 
found in magazine articles some of which are ex- 
cellent as far as they go; but they are neither ex- 
haustive nor comprehensive. In the histories of 
Persia and of the Jews, general religious compari- 
sons are made when the period of their contact is 
treated, but neither do these histories make any at- 
tempt or claim at exhaustive and complete treatment. 

The sources of our information must therefore be 
the ancient literatures themselves. On the Zoroas- 

17 



1 8 Introduction 

trian side, the Avesta is foremost in importance. In 
the Avesta, the Gathas or Psalms of Zarathustra are 
of highest value. The Gathas represent Zarathustra 
as personally announcing a new faith. They are 
"the utterances of Zarathustra in the presence of the 
assembled church." 1 In the later literature he is 
spoken of as having lived in the past and often is 
deified, while in the Gathas he speaks of himself in 
the first person. 2 The entire Pahlavi literature is of 
much assistance, for it reflects through tradition the 
ideas of the ancient times. Herodotus and Xenophon 
give some facts that are valuable. On the side of 
Judaism, our information comes from the Bible, the 
Apocrypha, and Jewish writings such as the Book of 
Enoch, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and 
Josephus. 

It is generally recognized that the Persians and 
Jews were in contact with each other, one as ruler 
and the other as subject, for over two hundred years, 
(B. C. 538-331) ; that during the most, if not all 
of this time, the faith of the Persians was Zoroas- 
trian; that the leading teachers and authorities for 
the faith were Magians;* that there are striking 
similarities in some of the ideas, customs and beliefs 
of Zoroastrianism and Judaism. On the other hand, 
difficult questions are raised, for it is disputed 



1. Article Zoroaster, by F. Geldner, in Ency. Britanica. 

2. For exam, see Tir Yast I, 13, 20, 26, Dinkard VII. 3, 5, 
Yasna XLIII 146. 

3. The Dinkard regards "the Avesta and Zend" as sacred 
writings of the Magian priests. Dk. IV, 21, 34. 



Introduction 19 

whether Zarathustra is a historical character; or if 
he is, whether his date is early or late; whether he 
was born in East or West Iran; whether his birth- 
place was the scene of his activity. It is questioned 
whether Cyrus was a Zoroastrian; whether in ac- 
counting for the similiarities in religion and customs, 
the Persians borrowed from the Jews, or the Jews 
from the Persians. 

In giving conclusions, I shall attempt to state and 
substantiate the results of personal investigation. 
Quotations or references will be given from the 
Avesta, Pahlavi texts, the Bible, the Apocrypha and 
ancient Jewish writings direct, rather than citations 
from the opinions of others. 

Before any comparison can be made there must 
be an accurate knowledge of the two religions. This 
is absolutely essential. This may be given in a few 
pages, although a longer treatment would be interest- 
ing and profitable. 



ZOROASTRIANISM AND JUDAISM 



ZOROASTRIANISM 
AND JUDAISM 

CHAPTER I 

ZARATHUSTRA 

J ARATHUSTRA was a real character. Dar- 
*-** mesteler and Edward Meyer maintain 1 he was a 
mere myth. But they fail to distinguish the Zara- 
thustra of the later literature from the Zarathustra 
of the Gathas. Zarathustra is portrayed in the 
Gathas as a man of stirring individuality, teaching, 
exhorting and evidently exercising a strong influ- 
ence on all in his presence. 2 He is pictured as a man 
with strong human feelings, whose only trust is in 
God. 3 That he was a prophet and a reformer the 
growth of his religion will show. 4 The later por- 
tions of the Avesta represent Zarathustra in a more 
distant light, with somewhat of a veil of sanctifica- 
tion thrown around him, which serves rather to 
conceal than to reveal his personality. It ought not 
to be a matter of surprise that miraculous circum- 
stances should be connected with him in this later 
literature. 5 Lapse of time has encircled other men, 
especially in the east, with superhuman attributes and 

i. Darmesteler, The Zend-Avesta, Part I, pp. LVI. ff Edward 
Meyer, "Geschichte des A liter humus" v. I. 

2. Ys. IX :i, XLIX:i-3. 

3. Ys. XLIII:8, XLVIn. 

4. For the work of the prophet and reformer, see pgs. 25 and 
26. 

5. Yt. XIII :o3, XVII :i9, Vd. XIX :6, Dk. VII. 

23 



24 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

deeds. 

The date of Zarathustra was fixed by some clas- 
sical writers at 6,000 B. C. 6 This was perhaps due 
to the Greeks' misunderstanding statements of the 
Persians regarding Zarathustra's millenium in the 
great world period of 12,000 years. Other an- 
cient writings connected Zarathustra with the myth- 
ological Semiramis and Ninus, with Nimrod and 
Abraham. 7 The direct Zoroastrian tradition 8 is clear 
and strong in placing Zarathustra's date between 250 
and 300 years before the time of Alexander, which 
would be in the late seventh century or the earlier 
half of the sixth century, and before the Achae- 
menian dynasty. This view which is also in har- 
mony with the most recent scholarship, seems the 
most reasonable to adopt. 9 

The familiar form of the prophet's name, Zoro- 
aster is from the Latin Zoroastres, which in turn is 
modelled after the Greek Zwsoa's Tsns. In the 
Pahlavi texts the usual form is Zaratust, of which 
modern Persian has a variety of expressions. All 
of these are variations of the Avestan Zarathustra. 
It is a prosaic name and perhaps means old camel. 
The family designation was Spitama. 

In Zarathustrian literature, there is general una- 
nimity in fixing Zarathustra's birthplace in West 

6. Plato, Alciabiades I:\22. 

7. Eusebius, "Chronicon," 1 143, IV 135. 

8. Bund. XXXIV :i-o, Ardai Viraf I:i-5, Dk. VII. 7:6, Zad- 
Sparam XXXIII :n-i2. 

9. For discussion of Zarathustra's date see, West, Pahlavi 
Texts, Part V, pp. 27-47 and Jackson, Zoroaster, appendix II. 



Zarathustra 25 

Iran, either inAdarbaijan or in Media. 10 He seems to 
have been "without honor in his own country," and 
to have wandered in different places engaged in la- 
bors. 11 Many details of Zarathustra's early life and 
of his later experiences are given in Pahlavi litera- 
ture. 12 He is the son of Powmshaspa and Dughedha. 
His lineage and ancestry are traced in detail. His 
life is a series of marvels. Omens and prodigies at- 
tend his birth. Sorcerers and enchanters endeavor 
to destroy the young child, but all their efforts are 
fruitless. Necromancy, sorcery and the black art 
are constantly resorted to, all of which Zarathustra 
defies. He even rebukes his father for yielding to 
such influence. 

At about twenty, he withdraws and gives himself 
to thought and meditation. This is the period of 
preparation common to all great teachers. At the 
age of thirty when he is by the river Avetak the 
revelation comes. 13 It is parallel to the vision of 
Daniel. 14 The archangel Vohumanah (good 
thought), the Gabriel of the faith, appears and 
leads Zarathustra to a conference with Ahura Maz- 
da, which is the first of seven 15 visions with hallowed 
communings, which he enjoys during the next ten 
years. After the first vision, he preaches reform to 
the heretical priesthood and people of the land, but 

10. Bund. XX-.32, XXIV :i5, Vd. XIX 14, ii, I:i6, Ys. XIX :i8. 

11. Ys. XLVI:i, Yt. XIX :66. 

12. Dk. VII :2-7, Dk. V :2-3, Zad-Spm. XIII-XXIV. 

13. Dk. VII 13, 51, Z.-Spm. XXI n-27. 

14. Dan. X :4-i2. 

15. Spm. XXII:i-i3, Ys. XLIII 15-16. 



26 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

with no success. 

In disappointment he wanders for years, and his 
first convert was not won till after ten years. He 
was his own cousin, Maidhyo-Mah. 16 At the bid- 
ding of Ahura Mazda, Zarathustra now goes to the 
court of Vishtaspa. Here after discouragements 
for two years, by a miracle finally being performed 
on the king's favorite horse, the king is won for the 
faith. 17 Vishtaspa becomes a great helper in pro- 
pagating the religion through Iran and beyond. 18 
The pictures given in the Gathas of the court scenes 
are striking. The voice of the reformer curses the 
daevas and the ungodly, and promises to the righte- 
ous the rewards of heaven. 19 Zarathustra speaks 
not only as a reformer, but as a prophet of Ahura 
Mazda he announces a new doctrine to man. 20 

The religion spread rapidly after the conversion 
of Vishtaspa. The holy wars against the Hyaoman 
leader Arejat-Aspa, who twice invaded Iran formed 
the great events of the last ten years of Zarathustra's 
life. 21 The victory for the faith was complete and 
the religion became finally established. It was dur- 
ing the second invasion that Zarathustra probably 
perished, at the age of seventy-seven, (perhaps in 

16. Ys. LI:i9. Yt. XIII :9s, Bd. XXXII .2, Spm. XXIII: 1-2. 

17. Dk. VII 14, 70-85, Ys. LI:i6. 

18. Dk. V :2-i2. S-g Vig. X '.64-70, Yt XIII rgg-uo, Ys. XXVI : 
9, Vsp. XVI .2. 

19. Ys. XLVI:i4, XLIX: 9 , XXVIII 7-8, XLIV:9. 

20. Ys. XXXII :i-2, XLIVn, n, XLV:5, L:i. 

21. Dk. VIII :n :4, VII 14, 77-87, 88-90, Yz. §§ 58-85, ShN. 
Mohl IV, 330-340. Vishtaspa prays for divine aid in battle. Yt. 
V:i09, IX:30-3i, XIX 187. 



Zarathustra 27 

B. C. 563) . Pahlavi texts always speak of a murder- 
er. 22 

After the death of Zarathustra the religion con- 
tinued to spread. 23 Had it not been for Marathon, 
Salamis, and Plataea the worship of Ahura Mazda 
might have extended into Europe. The greatest 
teacher who rose was Saena, 24 who lived in the first 
and second centuries after Zarathustra. It was his 
disciples, Alexander overthrew when he came in his 
world conquest. He brought ruin by the sword and 
burned the books of the Avesta. It was a dark per- 
iod for the religion. But with the national power 
broken, the sacred books burned, Zoroastrianism 
lived on, and in the third century A. D., it rose to 
supremacy again through the Sassanian empire. 
(226-651 A. D.). Sects like the Manichaean arose, 
heresies like that of Mazdak came in, but the re- 
ligion held its old glory till in the seventh century, it 
was almost blotted out by the armies of Mohammed. 

Only about ten thousand true followers of Zara- 
thustra are to be found still in the old Persian home. 
Others had preferred exile to conversion to Islam, 
and took refuge in India, where they found safety, 
peace and freedom to worship Ormazd. The Par- 
sees of Bombay, their true descendants, number 
about ninety thousand. They are a flourishing com- 
munity and faithful to the ancient creed. 

22. Dk. VII :s, 1, V :3, 2. Z-spm. XXIII :o, Sad. Dar. IX 15. 

23. Dk. VII:6:i2, 7:6, VIII :i4, 10, Zspm XXIII :n, Yt. 13:97. 

24. For the names of other successors of Zarathustra see 
Zspm XXIII :nff. Pahlavi Texts. 



CHAPTER II 

JUDAISM 

A DETAILED treatment of Judaism would it- 
- - self furnish an instructive theme for a book. To 
give within a few pages a right estimate of Judaism 
is not an easy task, and to do so in order to indicate 
its relation to a foreign influence is still more diffi- 
cult. Many facts concerning persons and events 
must be assumed as known and accepted in order 
that the leading features that pertain to the life and 
religion of the Jews before, during, and after the 
exile, may be brought prominently before the mind. 

Judaism was a unique politico-religious organ- 
ism. Its fundamental principles came to be an ac- 
knowledgment of the one God, Yahveh, and of the 
Torah in which Yahveh revealed Himself. It began 
with the reform of Josiah. That reform indeed prac- 
tically had failed in Judah, but during the exile the 
teachings proclaimed by the pre-exilic prophets pre- 
vailed. Before Josiah's time society was rotten to 
the core. 1 The prophets of the eighth century, 
Amos, 2 Hosea, 3 Isaiah, 4 Micah, 5 had rebuked the 
people for their sins and called for righteousness to 

i. Zeph, 1:5-6, 8-9, III:i-4, Jer. 11:5, 12, 22-27, 34- 

2. Aos. II :4-5, VII. 

3. Hos. VI:4-n, XII :2, 6. 

4. Isa. VII :6-9, XXII :8-i2. 

5. Micah 1 :5, III :5-6. 

28 



Judaism 29 

the Holy One of Israel. As a result there was a re- 
formation under Hezekiah, but under Manasseh and 
Amon the masses returned to their old idols. 6 Nev- 
ertheless the spirit of reform was in the air when 
in 639 B. C. the little Josiah came to the throne. By 
rebuke and appeal Zephaniah 7 and Jeremiah 8 and 
Nahum 9 moved the people to the first steps of re- 
form again. The finding of the book of the law 
within the temple 10 gave character to the reforma- 
tion. 11 Jeremiah, whose heart and soul were in the 
work of reform, welcomed the covenant, 12 and the 
people publicly assembled by the king, pledged them- 
selves to keep it. 13 With the reformation of Josiah 
begins the rule of written law. This was decidedly 
a great advance. The written requirements were 
superior to the earlier ceremonial forms, and also 
gave a stability to the worship of Yahveh it had not 
possessed before. This written law a part of our 
present Book of Deuteronomy (v-xxvi, xxviii) is sat- 
urated throughout with a broad, prophetic spirit. It 
is the book of Love in the Old Testament. 14 The 
detailed laws are the means whereby this love is to 
find expression. It set apart the followers of Jeho- 

6. II Kings XXI 73. 

7. Zeph. 1: 12, 1:8, II 11-3. 

8. Jer. V, VII: 1-7. 

9. Nahum. 1 115, II:i-2. 

10. II. Ki. XXII :i. 

11. Ki. XXIII :i-28. 

12. Jer. XI:2-6. 

13. II. Ki. XXIII :3, HI Chron. XXXIV :33-35. 

14. Dent VI :5, VIII :2-6, X :i2, XI, 1, 13, 22, XIII 3, XX .-4. 



30 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

vah as a holy people 15 High places were swept away 
and the temple at Jerusalem was exalted and made 
the only place of sacrifice. 16 It started literary ac- 
tivity which left its impress on all later Hebrew lit- 
erature. 17 Under the kings succeeding Josiah there 
was reaction and apostasy. 18 During the closing 
years of Judah's existence, Jeremiah stood almost 
alone, 19 her last and greatest prophet. He declares 
the overthrow of the short rule of Egypt (609-605) 
by Nebuchadnezzar, 20 which was the beginning of the 
end for Judah. Earnest and pleading appeals for 
reform were of no avail. 21 The people were un- 
righteous and rebellious, and their doom foretold 
came upon them. "Jerusalem became heaps, and 
the mountain of the house as the high places of the 
forest." 22 

The few Jews who remained in Judah were in 
pitiable circumstances. 23 Not so were those in exile. 
For the most part their bondage was not an oppres- 
sive one. 24 Many lived in their own homes and some 
obtained wealth. But the true Israelites could never 



15. Deut. VII :6, XIV :2, 21, XXVI :i, 9, XXVIII :g. 

16. Deut XII :2-5, XXVI :2, I Ki. VIII 129, Psa. LXXVIII :68. 

17. The literary products of this period may be indicated in 
part by Deut, Jer., Judges, Sam., Kings, Zeph. and some of the 
Psa. and Prov. 

18. Jer. X:2i, XI:io, 13-17, XVIII 117. 

19. Jer. VII :8, VIII :8, 11, XI 118-23. 

20. Jer. XLVI. 

21. Jer. XVII :s, 7, XIX, XX, XXXIV, XXXVIII. 

22. Micah III: 12. 

23. Lam. 111:45-53, V:i-i8, Jer. XL:n-i2. 

24. Jer XXIX :5-7, Isa XLI :6-7, XLIV: 10.20, Baruch VI. 



Judaism 3 1 

be reconciled to Babylon. 25 In exile they maintained 
their religion separately. This is undoubtedly the 
chief reason they did not dissolve and perish in cap- 
tivity. The harm Babylonia had done in the years 
before the exile in exciting to idolatry, it undid in 
the years of banishment. 

With the accession of Cyrus and the rule of Per- 
sia, came the permission to return to their cherished 
land. 26 The undertaking was difficult. Years passed 
before those who returned succeeded in rebuilding 
the temple. It was not dedicated till 516 B. C., 27 
more than a hundred years after the reform of 
Josiah, and it was not till 445 B. C. that the walls 
of Jerusalem were rebuilt. 28 Ezra, Haggai, Zech- 
ariah, and Nehemiah were prominent figures in 
shaping the life of the community, especially Ezra 
and Nehemiah. Following the rededication of the 
walls there was social and religious reform, 29 and 
of greatest importance the adoption, by a great as- 
sembly of the people, of the Covenant, the priestly 
code. 30 The reformation under Josiah had been by 
a royal decree and its influence still continued in 
Judah. The priestly reformation was democratic. 
By a popular vote, the people accepted the new law 

25. Ezek. IV -.12-15, Hos. IX 13, Psa. CXXXVII:i-5, Isa. 
XLII :22. 

26. Ezra VI:3-5, Ezra 1:1-4. 

27. Ezra III :8, Hag. II 13-9, Ezra VI n-15, Zech, VIII 19-15. 

28. Neh. II 7-8, VI -.15-16. 

29. Ezra X, Neh. VI: 17-19. 

30. Neh. IX, X. The code though not then completed, was in 
the main in Exo. XXV-XXXI, XXXIV :29 to end, and the books 
of Leviticus and Numbers. 



32 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

and bound themselves by an oath to walk in God*s 
law. 31 The new code centred the life of the true 
Israel about the sanctuary, and hereafter more and 
more Jerusalem was to be the holiest place upon 
earth. The code united all faithful Jews whether 
in Palestine or in other lands, encircling them with 
a high wall of separation. For they all now had 
one law, one worship, and one temple. Judaism no 
longer meant a nationality but a religious conviction. 
Another element in the growth of Judaism, which 
from this time exerted a strong influence, was the 
Samaritan schism. Josiah's reform had left a last- 
ing impression upon the Samaritan people, 32 but 
many heathen ideas survived. 33 The challenge 34 they 
gave the returning Judeans to prove themselves the 
people of Yahveh was finally met by the declaration 
that Sanballat and his followers should "have no por- 
tion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem." 35 When 
the Jewish community solemnly bound itself by the 
priestly code the Samaritans were forever ex- 
cluded from the Jerusalem temple. The two com- 
munities continued to live in bitter rivalry and jeal- 
ousy, both laying claim to the name and privilege of 
the ancient Israelitish nation. The Judeans were 
fired by the Samaritans to a passionate devotion to 
their law and temple, and much of the intolerance 

31. Neh. X 128-29. 

32. II Kings, XXIII : is-20. 

33. Isa. LXVin, LXVI:3, Neh. IV 14-5. 

34. Josephus Antiquilies, XI :2 and 8. 

35. Neh. 11:20. 



Judaism 33 

which disfigured later Judaism was the result of the 
conflicts with the worshippers on Gerizim. 

Thus Judaism came to be a fixed system. The 
inner forces and external influences that shaped the 
system may be more or less distinctly traced, and 
need be indicated only briefly. A strong inner force 
was the literature of the period, helping to give char- 
acter to its life and thought. 36 There was the priestly 
aristocracy whose functions and power from the 
time of the adoption of the priestly code were ever 
widening. Of greater influence still were the new 
religious teachers, the scribes. Their power increas- 
ed as that of the prophets waned. They became the 
dominant intellectual leaders of Judaism. They 
edited and expanded the Law. They made its prac- 
tical applications. Their place of instruction was the 
synagogue, which was a recognized institution short- 
ly after the time of Ezra. It became as democratic 
as the temple was exclusive. There resulted a devo- 
tion to the Law, to know and to keep which was a 
glad privilege. 37 Emphasis was placed upon the in- 
dividual instead of the family or tribe. This was 
first brought out by Jeremiah 38 and Ezekiel. 39 There 
developed in Judaism a self-centered, intellectual, 
strong moral-religious life illustrated by lofty ex- 

36. In addition to the pre-exilic literature mentioned above 
(pg. 15 note 1) there was Lam. Ezek., Job, Deutero., Isa., Hag., 
Zech., Mai, the Priest Code, some of the Psalms, the Wisdom 
literature, and the apocryphal writings. 

37. Psalm XIX7-11, LXXXIV:i-2, CXIX. 

38. Jer. XXXI 130-34. 

39. Ezek. XXXIII :i-20. 



34 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

amples of probity and piety. 

Among the external influences several may be 
named. Before the exile the Hebrews were tempt- 
ed by foreign courts into idolatry, and into political 
and social extravagances. Yet by contact with for- 
eign powers, they gained a conception of a broader 
world than they had known before. This, too, gave 
them a sense of the power of organization. The 
Babylonian exile represented a fundamental transfor- 
mation in the political, social and religious life of the 
people. It proved that the Jewish people could 
maintain their racial separateness without king or 
political organization. The energies of the leaders 
were turned from politics to ritual and religion. Idol- 
atry was forever stamped out, and the religion be- 
came pure monotheism. 

The religion and rule of Persia was one of the ex- 
ternal influences. It will be treated later. On the 
return from the exile, the influences of their heathen 
neighbors led to the erection of that high wall of 
separation which not only excluded the Gentiles, but 
kept the Jews faithful to their race and religion. 
They could not have political ambitions as in earlier 
days, for they were a subject people, but they were 
free to devote all their time and energies to religion. 

In the Greek period, Greek worldiness, philoso- 
phy, radicalism, were resisted by Jewish legalism, 
simplicity, and conservatism. The contact of such 
contrary forces proved rich in results for the world. 
But it brought into bolder relief the antagonistic 



Judaism 35 

features of Judaism. The Jews could refuse to be 
Grecized. The furnace of affliction in which Juda- , 
ism was long cast only intensified the loyalty and de- 
votion of its followers. They evidenced for cen- 
turies a fearless passion for their religion. 

The conditions among the Jews operating against 
the giving or receiving of foreign influences may for 
the most part be reduced to their exclusiveness. The 
exile was a period of rapid change. Previously, 
they often had been following the ways of other na- 
tions, and at the same time boasting of their own in- 
violability. After the exile, they were glad to accept 
the message of prophet, priest, or scribe in their 
eagerness to obtain reconciliation with Jehovah. 
Their ruling desire was to regain their lost national 
and individual purity. The great prophet of the 
exile declared that because of their peculiar relation 
to Jehovah they had a high mission to fulfill among 
the nations. 40 But his ideal was too exalted for 
those of his time to appreciate. The presence of 
their enemies, the Babylonians, Persians, and the 
heathen in Judah, united the Jews by an indissolu- 
ble bond. Persecutions only intensified their loyalty 
to their adopted creed. The horror of being ab- 
sorbed into the great heathen world led them to 
become exclusive of everything foreign. When they 
thought of their neighbors it was to pray for their 
destruction. There was an opportunity for the ad- 

40. Isa. LXII:i-2, LV:i-5, LIII, LXVI:i-2. 



36 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

mission of proselytes, but there was little or no pros- 
elyting. 41 In the Greek period the broad tolerance 
of the book of Jonah found little illustration. 
There was the same race-pride, rigid ceremonialism, 
and religious passion. Yet there were striking in- 
consistencies which indicate that Judaism ^absorbed, 
perhaps unconsciously, foreign ideas and beliefs. 

In the sixth century B. C, the Aryans came to the 
front in influence and power, and the Hebrews came 
into contact with them as subjects. It was during 
this period, and the years immediately following, 
that the Hebrews became known as Jews, that they 
were changed from being a nation into a politico-re- 
ligious theocracy, that their leaders instead of being 
statesmen became priests and scribes, that the peo- 
ple placing themselves in bondage to a rigid law be- 
came religious in their ambitions, instead of secular 
or political. There was an over-emphasis of cere- 
monial righteousness, there was constantly a spirit 
of exchisiveness. Yet in the writings of the time 
there was also emphasis given to moral righteous- 
ness, 42 to the expectation of a useful future for Israel 
as Yahveh's servant, 43 to a world-wide conception of 
Yahveh's love and care. 44 There was a higher con- 
ception of worship than at any earlier time. The 
synagogue with its Torah and prayer did much to 

41. Deut. XXIII 7-8, Lev. XVII :8-io, 13, Num. IX:i4, Exo. 
XII 148. 

42. Later Psalm and Deutero.-Isa. 

43. Deutero.-Isa. 

44. Deuero.-Isa., Joel, Jonah. 



Judaism 37 

create a more spiritual idea of worship. There was 
a truer recognition of the sovereignty of holiness by 
which alone they could hope for national perfection. 
However hollow their religion may have been, this 
recognition was an omen of good. 

The Jews came into direct touch with Persia in 
the Babylonian exile and for more than two hundred 
years afterward. Cyrus, the Persian king, "the 
righteous one, the Shepherd of the Lord, the anoint- 
ed of God," 45 gave orders that the temple at Jeru- 
salem be rebuilt and that the Jews be returned from 
captivity to their own city. 46 Darius, the worship- 
per of Ormazd, favored the rebuilding of the tem- 
ple and commanded that the decree of Cyrus be car- 
ried into effect. 47 Judea became a Persian prov- 
ince and remained so till the time of Alexander. 
There are probably references to the ancient faith 
of Persia in Ezekiel and Deutero-Isaiah. 48 The Wise 
men who came from the East to worship Christ, 
were Magi, followers of the ancient creed of Per- 
sia, and it is actually stated in the Apocryphal New 
Testament that they came in accordance with a 
prophecy of Zarathustra. 49 

The chief characteristics of the Zoroastrian re- 
ligion in brief are : the philosophic tenet which recog- 

45. Isa. XLI:2, XLIV:28, XLV:i-3, 13. 

46. II. Chron. XXXVI 122-23, Ezra 1 11-17, III 7, IV .3, I Es- 
dras II :i-7. 

4jf Ezra VI:i-i5, I Esdras 111:42-57. 

48. Ezek. VIII :i6, Isa. XLV7, 12. 

49. Infancy III :i cf. Mt. II:i-2. 



38 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

nizes the constant warfare that rages between the 
good principle Ahura Mazda, or Ormazd, 
('Opo/mo-STrs) and the evil spirit, Angro Mainyu, 
Ahrmian, ('Apei/m^os), anc j their respective king- 
doms. The duration of this conflict is limited, at 
the end of the world good will triumph, and evil be 
annihilated; a general resurrection of the dead will 
take place and the new life begin. There is also in 
the religion an elaborate system of angels and de- 
mons, a distinct cosmology and cosmogony, a pro- 
nounced doctrine of eschatology, and a high code 
of ethics. There are also elements of nature wor- 
ship, a deification of sun, moon and stars, a religious 
veneration for fire, earth, and water, and a scrupu- 
lous awe in exercising care to preserve these ele- 
ments from defilement. These nature features seem 
to point back to earlier times. In addition there is 
a rigid dogmatism that inculcates the necessity of 
preserving the purity of the body, the care of useful 
animals, the practice of agriculture, and the observ- 
ance of a strictly defined ritual. 

To bring Judaism and Zoroastrianism more clear- 
ly into view, the beliefs wherein they agree may be 
summarized briefly. Each was proclaimed by a 
prophet. Each worshipped one God. Each be- 
lieved in an evil power. Each forbade images. Each 
laid emphasis on a moral act. Each was intolerant 
toward other systems. Each developed priestly 
cults, and emphasized ceremonial cleanness. Each 
had something like a synagogue worship. Belief in 



Judaism 39 

angels and demons and in the future life were ideas 
common to both. 

Surely with so many points of agreement here at 
once were influences that would tend to unify them. 
During all these years in which Judaism was gradu- 
ally assuming form the most intelligent and active 
members of the Jewish race were brought into con- 
tinued contact with the dominant peoples of the 
age. 50 Since in other respects their habits were 
changed by the new environment, it would have 
been strange indeed if their religion had been un- 
affected. The Babylonians were too gross in their 
idolatry to develop Jewish religious conceptions. 
But the Jews were attracted by the faith that had 
so many articles in accord with their own teachings. 

The policy of the Persians towards the Jews al- 
so would render the Jews favorably disposed 
toward their rulers. 51 There is evidence, too, that 
during the Persian period the Jewish community re- 
ceived many foreigners into its midst. 52 The influ- 
ences which tended to keep the two religions apart 
were, that the Hebrews were so little known, so lit- 
tle in contact with other peoples, and their priest- 
hood so exclusive, that it is not likely they would 

50. "Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and 
great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his 
brethren ; seeking the good of his people." Esther X 13 ; also 
Esther VII :8, VIII 7-17, Dan. VI 11-3, 14, 28, VIII 13. 

51. Isa. XLIV:28, XLVn-4, II Chron. XXXVI 122-23, Ezra 
I:i-4, II Macca. 1 118-24, 31-35, Ezra VI:i-i5. 

52. Zech VIII 122-23, Isa. LVI-.3-8, "Many of the people of 
the land became Jews." Esther VIII :i7 



40 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

exert any strong influence upon Persian ideas. The 
Persians being rulers would have made this influ- 
ence less likely. On the other hand, the Jewish 
horror of heathen nations together with their devo- 
tion to the covenant, erected that high wall of sep- 
aration which isolated Judaism during more than 
four centuries. Further, during a large part of the 
Persian period, the attitude of the satraps toward 
the Palestinian Jews would not dispose the latter con- 
sciously to imitate. Those in the Dispersion would 
not consciously have adopted Persian ideas when 
their hearts said, "How shall we sing the Lord's 
song in a strange land." 53 No important belief of 
Judaism was adopted outright from the Iranian 
faith, but without foreign influence some of the 
leading beliefs would not have been grasped and so 
fully developed, as they appear to have been from 
this time. To trace the resemblances between the 
two religions, and to indicate something of the prob- 
able influence of the one upon the other will occupy 
the remainder of this volume. 

53. Psa. CXXXVII:4. 



CHAPTER III 



THE IDEA OF DEITY 



T T is natural that the idea of deity should claim 
^ first attention. Everywhere in Iranian scriptures 
the supremacy of Ahura Mazda is recognized. So 
characteristic is this supremacy that Mazdaism is the 
name sometimes used for the religion. Ahura Maz- 
da is invoked as "the creator, the radiant and glor- 
ious, the greatest and the best, the most beautiful, 
the most firm, the wisest, and the one of all whose 
body 1 is the most perfect, who attains His ends the 
most infallibly, . . . who sends His joy-creat- 
ing grace afar; who made us and has fashioned us, 
and who has nourished and protected us, who is the 
most bounteous spirit." 2 ' There are passages in the 
Avesta that indicate the divine unity, 3 yet the unity is 
incomplete. 4 At times Ahura Mazda seems to be 
but one of the seven Immortals, 5 (Amesha Spentas) 
who govern the universe. His power is limited, too, 
by the presence of Angro-Mainyu, 6 else the Persian 
reasoned he would not permit the existence of evil. 

i. Ahura was not conceived of as having a body proper. The 
stars are elsewhere described poetically as his body. 

2. Ys. I:i 

3. Ys. XXXI 7-8. 

4. Ys. XXX: 4 -5, Yt. XIII :i, Ys. LVII:i7- 

5. Sirozah II :i, Dk. IX 127, and many Yts. 

6. Ys. XXXI :i2, Bund 1:8, 13-20, Vend. 1:3-20, Yt. XV:3-4, 
Yt. V: 17-18, XIX -.46. 

41 



42 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

This means that his omnipotence is in doubt, though 
it is sometimes implied and even asserted. 7 The 
spitituality of Ahura Mazda is a high conception 
often expressed. He is the bountiful and holy spir- 
it. 8 This ideal of spirit is implied in other attri- 
butes. He is Lord- Wisdom which may be said to 
be the chief characteristic of Ahura Mazda. In a 
chapter of the Avestan ritual, which was recited 
daily, Ahura Mazda says of himself, "My sixth 
name is Understanding. My seventh is the Intelli- 
gent One. My eighth name is Knowledge. My 
ninth is Endowed with knowledge. My twentieth 
name is Mazda (the All-knowing One). I am the 
Wise One; my name is the Wisest of the Wise." 9 
He is omniscient 10 He is everywhere represented 
as creating with intelligence, 11 while his antagonist 
Angro-Mainyu creates with ignorance. Holiness 
and goodness are attributes of Ahura Mazda. 12 His 
relation to men is represented in the Gathas as 
personal, 13 though it may be the personal relation 
was confined to the prophet Zarathustra. He is the 
friend and helper of men, and deeply interested in 
their welfare. He is declared to satisfy their "spir- 

7. Ys. XLIV:3-5, 7, Sk-G. Vig. 111:5-6, Yt. I:i2. 

8. Ys. I:i, XXVIII :i, XLIII .2, XLIV:2-7, XLVII:i-2, Shl- 
Sh. XV:2-3. 

9. Yt. I 7, 8, 15. 

10. Ys. XXXI :i3, XXIX '.4, XLV:4, Yt 1:8, 12,' 13-14, Vd. 
XIX -.20, Bund 1:2. 

11. Ys. XXXI :7, XLIV '.3-5, Yt. 1 7-8. 

12. Ys. XXVIII 7, 10, 11:2, Yt. 1 7, 12. 

13. Ys. XXXI :i 4 -i8, XLIV, XLVI :i-i2, XXVIII :i2. 



The Idea of Deity 43 

it's need." 14 Anthropomorphic ideas are more rare 
in the Gathas than in the Bible. Those that occur 
must be regarded as symbolical or a result of poetic 
license. Ahura Mazda was not to be thought of as 
having a human body. 15 To Zarathustra he was 
a spiritual, incomprehensible being, as Yahveh was 
to the poets and prophets of the Jews. Because 
Ahura Mazda is said to sustain a fatherly relation 
to some of the Amesha Spentas, does not detract 
from the purity and ideality of his conception. 16 It 
is as though he were affirmed to be the father of all 
goodness Out of some such a conception perhaps 
came the idea of the fatherhood of Yahveh which 
later reached a high development. 

On the great Behistun rock near the old Median 
boundary, three hundred feet from the base of the 
rock, is the inscription of Darius which reads: "The 
great Ahura Mazda which is the greatest of the gods 
has made Darius king. He has delivered the king- 
dom to him. Through the grace of Ahura Mazda 
is Darius king. This saith Darius the king. This 
land of Persia which Ahura Mazda gave me, and 
which is beautiful, rich in herds, rich in men popu- 
lation, through the grace of Ahura Mazda fears 
no foe. May Ahura Mazda grant me aid, together 
with the clan gods, 17 and may Ahura Mazda protect 

14. Ys. XLVI:2, XXXI :2i, XLIII:i-3, XXVIII :n. 

15. Ys. LVIII:8, XXXVI :6, are later than the Gathas, and 
symbolical on their face. 

16. Ys. XXXI :8, XLV 14, XLVII :2, Yt. XVII :i6. 

17. The clan gods are parallel to the Amesha Spentas and 
may perhaps mean them. See L. H. Mills in The New World 
for 1895, p. 47. 



44 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

this country from hostile hosts, from evil develop- 
ments and from the plotting lie, and this favor I 
beseech of Ahura Mazda with the clan gods." In 
the inscription at Nakhs-i-Rustem Darius is repre- 
sented as saying, "A great God is Ahura Mazda, 
who made this earth and yon heaven, who made man 
and provided the happiness of home for him, who 
made Darius king, the alone ruler of many. 
I am king through the gracious will of Ahura Maz- 
da. O man think no evil. The command of Ahura 
Mazda is this : think nothing evil, leave not the right 
way, sin not." Other inscriptions, those of Xerxes 
and Artaxerxes, those at Alwand and Persepolis, are 
as striking in their praises of Ahura Mazda. The 
words vasna Auramazdaha, (by the gracious will of 
Ahura Mazda) occur again and again throughout 
the inscriptions. The inscriptions as well as the lit- 
erature indicate the high idea of deity held by the 
Persians. 18 The kings mentioned in these inscrip- 
tions ruled during the Persian period of Jewish 
history. 

Before going further, it is well to inquire at this 
point what was the idea of God held in earlier times? 
No fully satisfactory answer can be given. A stage 
of primitive animism with all its spiritism, fetichism 
and ancestor-worship is assumed by students of re- 
ligion. An advancing step would be natural re- 
ligion, with the personification of natural phenom- 

18. Cuneiform Inscriptions, R. A. S. J. Vol. X. 



The Idea of Deity 45 

ena, and merging into polytheism. Traces of these 
stages may be found surviving in the Avesta. Herod- 
otus says 19 that from early times the Persian people 
worshipped the sun, moon, earth, fire, water and 
stars. These were all Indo-Iranian divinities. In 
the inscription of Darius quoted above, he appeals 
not only to Ahura Mazda but also to the clan-gods. 
The clan was a recognized institution in Iran, and 
under the protection of the religion. Zarathustra 
would only have to exalt Ahura Mazda and ignore 
the lesser divinities, and the step from polytheism 
to monotheism would be taken. If this was the step 
taken by Zarathustra it certainly was not taken im- 
mediately by the people. The new faith could not 
have sprung up suddenly. There must have been an 
antecedent stage. There may have been a decadent 
faith. The Pa hi am _D in kard^ndjp or tlons of the 
Avesta imply that Zarathustra had_to contend with 
superstition, sorcery and ckvjlworshi^. Zarathustra 
decIaresTTe longs to purify the religion, 20 and he will 
be a guide to all who will turn from their evil ways. 21 
Mithra, "the lord of wide pastures," the Yazatas of 
light and truth, has been thought by W. Geiger to 
come from a pre-Zoroastrian nature worship. 22 The 
Iranian Mazdaism, as it was before the reform of 
Zarathustra and the Gathas, was probably the re- 

19. Herod I :i3i. 

20. Ys. XLIV:o. 

21. Ys. XXXI .2, LI:i3, LIII:2, XLIII : 3 . 

22. Geiger, Civilization of Eastern Iranians, V, I, Introduc- 
tion VI. See also Yt. X :i, 7, 10, 12, 24, 48, etc., Ys. 1 13, II 13. 



46 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

ligion of Cyrus, so much as he had; though that re- 
form was undoubtedly earlier than his reign. This 
would easily allow him to recognize Merodach, or 
Yahveh. He was a polytheist or whatever suited 
his immediate purpose. The Magi were in Media 
and Babylonia perhaps in the seventh century. They 
are mentioned in Jeremiah 23 and Herodotus. 2 * Their 
religion was non-Aryan, but its presence should be 
recognized at least. The idea of deity in pre-Zoro- 
astrian times must have been in accord with a na- 
ture worship and an existing polytheism. Zarathus- 
tra was a prophet of a new faith. 

The God Zarathustra proclaimed represented a 
very high and pure conception. His throne was in 
the heavens, in the abode of endless light. 25 Around 
him stood the angels. These were the Amesha 
Spentas. 26 The evil spirit alone disputed his author- 
ity. If an angel seemed for a moment to be his 
peer, he was not eclipsed. Ahura Mazda was "the 
great God, the greatest of the gods," as he is called 
in the Achaemenian inscriptions. He was the being 
of infinite moral light, truth and purity. He was 
truth, and holiness, the All-knowing One. The lofti- 
ness of the conception was not paralleled anywhere 
save in the sacred writings of the Jews. The dig- 
nity, the spirituality, the privity of Ahura Mazda is 
well worthy of comparison here. 

23. Jer. XXXIX : 3 , 13, 

24. Herod I:ioi, 108. 

25. Ys. XXVIII :S. 

26. Ys. XXX :o, XXXI 14. 



The Idea of Deity 47 

In the earlier days, Yahveh was to Israel what 
Chemosh was to Ammon. 27 He was the tribal 
God. He was the storm God. He was not the only 
existing God, but the exclusive God of Israel. This 
conception continued for centuries. The Hebrews 
could serve only Yahveh, to serve another God would 
be for them a wrong. This was henotheism. Na- 
tional misfortunes were regarded as tokens of Yah- 
veh's displeasure. 28 Success was a proof of divine 
favor. If therefore, the Hebrews were the one peo- 
ple of Yahveh, His glory was dependent on their 
national prosperity. He would surely vindicate / 
Himself. 29 Yahveh was served by ceremony and of- 
fering, and little emphasis was put upon social and 
private morality. Idolatry continually menaced and 
marred the faith. 30 While Yahveh continued the 
tribal God, the conception of Him became broader 
and nobler in the minds of many of the nation's lead- 
ers. Amos emphasized that Yahveh was righteous, 
and hinted He was the God of the universe. Hosea 
announced that Yahveh was just because his love 
was supreme. But these prophets were far in ad- 
vance of their time. Isaiah, too, exalted the holiness 
of Yahveh as a moral perfection. He was the 

27. Judges XI -.24. On the origin of the cult the period of 
animism, ancestral worship and the growth of religious ideas. 
See the histories of Gratz, Kuenen, Renan, Wellhausen. 

28. Amos IV:6-i3. 

29. Amos V:i8. 

30. I Sam. XXVI 119, II Sam. XXIV :6, I Ki. XVIII :i8-2iff, 
XXII 143, II Ki. XXI :6, XXIII 7, 10, Isa. II :8, 20, Micah 1 16-9, 
Jer. II:n, 26-28. 



48 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

"Holy One of Israel." The prophets of the eighth 
century do not expressly declare, though their teach- 
ings may imply it, that Yahveh is God alone. It is 
in the age of Deuteronomy and of the later writers 
that Yahveh's sole Godhead is emphasized. This 
conception as well as the movement toward univer- 
salism was aided by contact with the great empires. 
The exile purified to a large degree the popular half- 
heathen idea of Yahveh. The people were made to 
feel their dependence on Yahveh who rules supreme 
in the universe. From this time there developed the 
truth that Yahveh rules in human affairs, which is 
strongly expressed in Job, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, 
Zechariah, and some of the Psalms. 31 Yahveh was 
no longer a tribal God, but the universal God and 
Ruler, and His house was to be "called a house of 
prayer for all peoples." Yahveh was supreme above 
all other gods. 32 The post-exilic writers emphasize 
the attributes of Yahveh. The wisdom, 33 omnipo- 
tence, 34 holiness, 35 justice, 36 love, 37 are frequently 

31. Zech. II-.ii, Job. XXXVIII ff, Isa. LVI 13-8, LXVI:i-2, 
Psa. LXVII, LXXXVI:o, CII 115-22, II Esdras XVI 76, Jud. 
IX:n. 

32. Deut. XXXII 139, II Esdras XIII 115, Baruch IV. 

33. Job. XII :i3, XXVIII 124-27, Psa. CIV:2 4 , CXXXIX:i-3, 
Dan. 11:20, Mai. 111:6, Prov. III:io, Isa. XLII :o, XL 113, 14, 28, 
Wisd. VII :24-30 et al. 

34. Isa. XLVI:io, Psa. CXV:3, Dan. IV :3s, II Esdras VIII: 
20-24, VI: 1 -6. 

35. Psa. CXI:o, XCIX:q, Isa. XLIII:is, XLIX7, LVII:i5, 
Lev. XI:44, XXI :8. 

36. Job. XXXIV :i2, XXXVII :2 3 , Eccle. Ill .17, XII :i 4 , Psa. 
XCIV :2, Exo. XXXIV 15-7, II Esdras VII 144. 

37. Deut. XXIII :s, Isa. XLIII:i, XLIX:i5, LXIII7, Dan. 
IX :o, II Esdras V:36-40, VII 162-70, VIII '.47. 



The Idea of Deity 49 

mentioned. The personal 38 and spiritual 39 relation 
between Yahveh and His people, between Yahveh 
and the individual worshipper are definitely and 
strongly represented. There was a gradual giving 
up of old anthropomorphisms and a growth in the 
idea of Yahveh as pure spirit. 

We are not to suppose that Zarathustra borrowed 
the conception of Yahveh directly or indirectly. The 
cult of Ahura Mazda has a national stamp in spite 
of resemblances to the worship of Yahveh. Be- 
sides we have placed the reform of Zarathustra 
and the Gathas, earlier than the period of Persian 
rule over the Jews. And it is in the Gathas that 
we find the highest and most spiritual conceptions 
of Ahura Mazda. In later times these conceptions 
degenerated, rather than were elevated by con- 
tact with other people. On the other hand the He- 
brew idea of Yahveh immediately after the exile 
took on a richer and broader content. How shall we 
explain it? In part by foreign influence. That in- 
fluence was certainly not Babylonian polytheism, 
save as it operated negatively. The intimacy be- 
tween the Jews and the Persians, when we remember 
the exclusiveness of Jewish religious feeling, can be 
explained only by recognizing the similarity between 
the two creeds. The Jews would have been attract- 
ed by the lofty conception of Ahura Mazda. In ac- 

38. Isa. LXII.-5, Psa. CIII:i3, Job. XIII 14, Wisd. V:5, XVI: 
26, Eccles. XXIII :i, Wisd. XVI -.26, II Esdras 1:28, 88, 11:2. 

39. Isa. XLVIII:i6-i7, Job. XXXIII -.4, II Esdras XVI : 62, 
Psa. XXXIV :20, LI:io, Wisd. 1:2, II Esdras 1:37, VII 162-68. 



50 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

counting for some of the attributes, the personal and 
spiritual qualities which Yahveh had from this time, 
it seems probably that for them the Jews were in- 
debted to the worshippers of Ahura Mazda; that 
through Zoroastrian influence the Jews were led to 
grasp attributes and qualities of Yahveh which pre- 
viously had been latent. To the new ideas of Yah- 
veh the Jewish people gave a loftier and purer, and 
more human meaning than their foreign neighbors 
had done. Worshippers of Ahura Mazda did not 
cenceive such truly personal and spiritual relations, 
as devout Jewish writers of the time declared existed 
between Yahveh and His followers. 40 Yahveh was 
supreme, the one Lord in whom they trusted, the 
God of heaven. 41 They were never tempted to sur- 
render Him. In one striking particular He always 
had been above the Iranian deity. He was omnip- 
otent. Ahura Mazda was constantly assailed by 
the power of evil.^ In a future millenium he would 
gain the victory and be supreme, but he was not now. 
The Jewish faith had no such device to explain the 
presence of evil. Yahveh was supreme over all. It 
is not unlikely that the author of Deutero-Isaiah may 
have had the Zoroastrian faith in mind, when he rep- 
resented Yahveh as saying, in an address to Cyrus, 
"I am the Lord, and there is none else; beside me 

40. See page 41, notes 5 and 6; also Deut. IV 129, VI :S, Psa. 
XXXVIII :i, XL:n, CXLV:8, g. 

41. Perhaps the term "God of heaven," may have been Persian, 
any way it is most frequently used in this period. Ezra VI :g, 
VII :i2, Psa. CXXXVI:2, Neh. I: 4 , II : 4 , Dan. II:i8. 



The Idea of Deity 5 1 

there is no God. I am the Lord and there is none 
else. I form the light, and create darkness; I make 
peace and create evil; I am the Lord, that doeth all 
these things." 42 

If every religion have some note more dominat- 
ing than the rest, dualism is the prominent factor in 
the religion of ancient Persia. The dualism does not 
exclude other elements, for there is a strongly 
marked monotheistic tendency as we have seen. The 
dualism was an attempt to solve the problem of evil. 
Ahura Mazda or Ormazd makes what is good in the 
world, Angro-Mainyu or Ahrinan mars it. The 
good god dwells in endless light, the evil deity in 
infinite darkness. The home of the blessed is in the 
south, of the damned in the north. The most strik- 
ing passages of the dualistic scheme of the world are 
found in the Gathas, Vendidad and the Bundahishu, 
and are easily found in other Pahlavi literature. 43 In 
the ''Iranian sermon on the mount," 44 the antithesis 
of the two primordial spirits is definitely given, and 
their contrasted natures pointed out. In the Gathas 
Ahura Mazda is God with Spenta Mainyu as his 
"Holy Spirit;" the Druj, "Lie, Falsehood," is the 
devil, with Angro Mainyu as his "Evil spirit." In 
the opening of the Vendidad the action and counter- 
action of Ahura Mazda and of Angro Mainyu are 

42. Isa. XLV:5-7. 

43. Ys. XXX: 3 -5, XXXI :i2, XXXII 13-6, 9, XLIV:is-i6, LI: 
9-10, Vend. I, III7-11, XIX:i-i4, XXII, Bund. I, III, VI, 
XXVIII. 

44. Ys. XXX: 3 -5. 



52 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

described. The dualism dominates the cosmogony, 
the cultus, the entire view of the moral order of 
the world. Not only does Angro Mainyu spoil by 
his counter-creations all the good creations of Ahura 
Mazda, but he brings death into the world, seduces 
] the first pair to sin, brings forth noxious animals 
and plants, and surrounds man by evil spirits. 
The dualism is clear; whether it was pre-Zoroas- 
trian may not be answered so readily. Dualism may 
be claimed to be earlier Iranian or even Indo-Iranian 
in origin, but in its characteristic Persian form, in 
its moral and ethical aspect we may believe it orig- 
inated with Zarathustra. Zarathustra's dualism is a 
monotheistic dualism, and an optimistic dualism, 
since Ahura Mazda will be finally victorious and 
good will triumph. It has been argued that be- 
cause no dualism is recognized in the inscrip- 
tions of the Achaemenian kings, that therefore they 
were not Zoroastrians or did not believe in dualism. 
But the reasoning is based upon e silentia grounds. 
The absence of dualistic elements in those inscrip- 
tions is not more marked than the non-mention of 
the devil in a royal edict or presidential proclama- 
tion of our time. It is also to be noted that Drauga, 
(Falsehood, Lie), is almost as much a satanic per- 
sonage in the Achaemenian inscriptions as is Druj in 
the Gathas. 

The modern Parsees claim that in Spenta Mainyu 
of the Gathas there is a phase of Ahura Mazda's 
being which is the antithesis of Angro Mainyu; and 



The Idea of Deity 53 

they conceive of Ahura Mazda as comprising within 
himself the two spirits, the good and the evil. There 
is no question but that Spenta Mainyu, or Holy 
Spirit, is often conceived in the Gatha as an ema- 
nation from Ahura Mazda. In such cases it be- 
comes personified; it sometimes plays the role of 
intermediary, especially in creative activity. As 
Spenta Mainyu is of the same nature and substance 
with Ahura Mazda, the subtle relation between the 
two is almost as hard to define as that between the 
Holy Spirit and the Father in the New Testament. 
The natural drift of the system, however, was to 
dualism. The monotheistic tendencies of its the- 
ology could not withstand the dualism of its philos- 
ophy. But the theology made the dualism optimis- 
tic as has been indicated. 

Only a few sentences need be given to dualism in 
Judaism. The subject will be involved later in our 
discussion of angels and demons. In the earlier 
days Yahveh, though only the tribal God was sole 
and supreme in the tribe. Yahveh was the authortf 
of every phenomenon, good or evil. After the exile* 
the Jews awoke to a realization of the spiritual, an- 
tagonistic powers of evil, as they had not known 
them before. It is not unlikely that the author of 
Deutero-Isaiah may be rebuking Persian dualism in 
the words, quoted above, 45 "I form the light and cre- 
ate darkness," etc. An instance in the development 

45. Page 50. 



54 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

of these ideas may be indicated in the books of Sam 
uel and Chronicles, the former compiled several cen- 
turies before the latter. In Samuel, 46 Yahveh is 
angry with Israel and moves David to number them. 
In Chronicles, 47 Satan ''provoked David to number 
Israel." The conception of Satan in Zechariah, 48 
Psalms 49 and Job 50 we probably may attribute to 
foreign influence. He is represented as planning 
man's ruin, causing ills and disasters, and even exer- 
cising a sort of government. But the Jewish dual- 
ism is different from the Persian in this, that Yahveh 
is never eclipsed or held in subjection even for a 
time. He is always supreme. The work of Yah- 
veh's creation, as it is told in the early allegorical 
parables of Genesis, may be marred by the presence 
of evil, 51 but neither here nor elsewhere is Yahveh's 
power limited. He is always stronger than Satan 
and all the powers of evil. Yahveh, too, existed be- 
fore the evil came into being. The Jewish dualism 
was not complete. 

46. II Sam. XXIV: 1. 

47. I Chron. XXI :i. 

48. Zech. III:i-2. 

49. Psa. CIX:6. 

50. Job. 1:6-8, 12, II*i-7. See also II Esdras III :2i, Baruch 
IV : 7 ,35. 

51. Gen. III:i-i5. The origin of the particular form under 
which the adversary appeared, need not be discussed, as it does 
not bear directly upon our theme. See Keunen, Renan, etc. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE HOST OF HEAVEN 

T N the scriptures of Zarathustra's faith, goodness, 
A light and heaven are portrayed as waging inces- 
sant warfare against evil, darkness and hell. The 
host of heaven and the celestial hierarchy are pic- 
tured in clear colors. The host of hell and the in- 
fernal bands are less distinct, but they are not too 
shadowy and dim to admit of being outlined. The 
armies of the two kingdoms are almost marshalled 
in warlike array. 

The Greeks with their anthropomorphic ideas of 
the pantheon of heaven were impressed by the ideal 
and spiritual character of the Iranian divinities. 1 
They noted, too, the absence of images among the 
Persians. Some images there were and Ahura Maz- 
da is sculptured on the Behistun rock in Achae- 
menian times, but this meant little more than our 
own carvings of angels, or representatives of deity 
in earlier Christian art. 

The supreme ruler of the heavenly host, of the 
kingdom of good, of light and of truth was Ahura 
Mazda, the Lord God of Iran. The spirituality 
and loftiness of the conception of Ahura Mazda has 
been already indicated. He is the all-wise god, om- 
niscient, benign, and bounteous, righteous and im- 

I. Herod 1 1131, III 129, 37, VIII 1109. 

5S 



J 



56 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

mutable, undeceiving and undeceived, a guardian and 
protector, the father and creator of all good things. 
He, on his throne in the heavens, in the realm of 
eternal light, is surrounded by a company of minis- 
tering angels who do his bidding. These are the 
archangels, "Beneficent" (Spenta) "Immortals" 
(Amesha), or Immortal Holy Ones. They are 
six in number, and together with Ahura Mazda they 
constitute a seven-fold group or celestial council. 
Their names are personifications of abstract con- 
cepts or virtues, Vohn-Mano, Good Thought, Asha- 
Vahista, Righteousness, Khshathra-vairya Material 
Sovereignty, Spenta-Annaiti, Wisdom in Piety, 
Haurvatat, Health, and Ameretat, Life or Immor- 
tality. 2 The separate names, of these abstractions 
are frequently found in the Gathas, 3 while a list of 
their names in the order given is in many places else- 
where. 4 In the metrical Gathas the group title does 
not seem to be found, but is often met with in other 
Avestan writings. 5 The adjectives Vohn, Fahista, 
Vairya, and Spenta which are the titles of the first 
four respectively are the standing epithets, insepara- 
ble from each. No adjective seems to be as- 
signed to Haurvatat or Ameretat. In later litera- 
ture the Amesha Spenta art augmented by other 

2. Yt. II:i-3, Siroz. I.1-7, Yt. XIX 116-17, XIII 183-84, Dk. 
VII .2, 18, Zad-Spm XXI :i3, VII:3:i7, 5i- 

3. Ys. XXVII :3-5, XLV:io, XLVII:i. 

4. Ys. 1:2, Yt. 1:24-25, Bund. 1:25-26. 

5. Ys. XLII:6, XXXIX :3, Vsp. IX:4, XI: 12, Ys. IV 14, 
XXIV 19, LVIII:s, Yt. XIII 182. 



The Host of Heaven 57 

names included as archangels, but this is not Zoro- 
astrian. 

Ahura Mazda is the father and creator of the 
Amesha Spenta. 6 He brought them forth to aid 
him in his work. Their creative and organizing ac- 
tivity is part of their character as agents of Ormazd. 7 
By preference he acts through their ministering 
hands 8 The Amesha Spenta receive special wor- 
ship in the ritual, and are said to descend to the ob- 
lation upon paths of light. 9 In paradise they sit 
upon thrones of gold. 10 Each has a specific charac- 
ter and sphere. 11 Vohn-Mano is the personification 
of Ahura Mazda's good spirit and divine wisdom. 
He is Ormazd's first creation and the chief promoter 
of the kingdom. He welcomes the souls of the 
blessed, 12 and is the archangel who leads Zarathus- 
tra to Ahura Mazda. 13 The name is associated with 
peace as opposed to discord. 14 In the material world, 
Vohn Manah has especial charge of useful animals. 15 
Asha Vahista is the personification of right repre- 
senting divine law and moral order in the world. 
To live according to Asha was the Zoroastrian 
ideal. 16 All fires are especially under the genius 



Yt. 1:25, XIX :i8, II:i-3. 

Yt. XIX:i8-i9, LVIII:5. 

Ys. XXVIII :7- 

Yt. III:i, XIII 184, XIX 117. 

Vend. XIX =32. 

Sh-l-Sh. XXII :i-7. 

Vd. XIX 131-32. 

Ys. XXVIII : 3 . 

Yt. II :i, 6. 

Ys. XXXI: 10. 

Ys. XXXI :2. 



5' 8 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

of Asha Vahista. 17 Khshathra personifies Ahura 
Mazda's might, majesty, sovereignty, representing 
the triumph of regal power. He presides over the 
metals which stand as his sign and symbol. 18 Spenta 
Annaiti, a feminine being, daughter of Ahura Maz- 
da and heaven, is the personification of religious 
harmony and piety. She presides over the earth 
which is a symbol of her bounteousness. 1 ' Hauo- 
vatat and Ameretat are two feminine archangels 
always mentioned together. The first is a per- 
sonification of complete health, perfection, the 
other of immortality. They are the promised 
reward of the blessed after death in paradise. 20 
Their charge is the water and the plants, and is men- 
tioned as early as the Gathas. 21 Each of the Immor- 
tal Holy ones has a special month assigned to his 
honor, 22 each has a special day as a holy day, and 
each has a particular flower as an appropriate em- 
blem, 23 Along with Ahura Mazda they are wor- 
shipped and propitiated. 24 Everywhere in the Zo- 
roastrian system, the existence of the Amesha Spenta 
is a characteristic feature, and it is probable the doc- 
trine originated with the Prophet himself. 
k The Yazatas, "adorable beings" stand third in 

17. Yt. XVII :2a 

18. Yt. X:i25. 

19. Vd. II:io-ii, 14-15, 18-19, Ys. XVI :io. 

20. Ys. XXXIV :n, XLIV:i7, XLV:5, 7, 10, XLVII:i, Yt. 
1:25, Siroz. 11:6-7. 

21. Ys. LI 7. 

22. Bund. XXV :20. 

23. Bund. XXVII 124. 

24. Yt. XIX:i4-20, Vsp. XIX:i-2, Sh-l-Sh. XV 14-31. 



The Host of Heaven 59 

rank, and serve like the Amesha Spenta still further 
to carry out the will of the divine Lord, Ahura Maz- 
da. Their number theoretically is legion, and they 
are spoken of as rising up by hundreds and thou- 
sands. 25 In practice, however, the only prominent 
Yazatas seem to be those to whom a day in the 
month is assigned, as a holy day, or to whom a spe- 
cial season or form of ritual worship is consecrated. 
The days for Ahura Mazda and the six Amsha- 
spands should be deducted. There are spiritual, 
heavenly, and material, earthly Yazatas recog- 
nized. At the head of the heavenly division stands 
Ahura Mazda, who is called "a Yazatas and the 
greatest of the Yazatas." 26 The chief of the earth- 
ly Yazatas is Zarathustra. Grouped together, the 
Yazatas are the guardians of the sun, moon, stars, 
and heaven, of the earth, air, fire, and water; or 
they are personifications of abstract ideas, like Vic- 
tory, Truth, Uprightness, Peace, Power and kindred 
conceptions. 27 Some of these Yazatas receive much 
attention, and have very important functions, espe- 
cially Fire, Water, Sun, Mithra. 

The Fravashis are a mighty army of spirits, be- 
lief in which is quite characteristic of the faith of 

25. Yt. VI :i. 

26. Yt. XVII: 16. 

27. An enumeration of the principal Yazatas is to be found 
in Ys. XVI 13-16. Most of our details are from the Yasts. For 
Fire Yazatas see Ys. XVII:i-n, Water Yt. V, Sun Yt. VI, Moon 
Yt. VII, Star Yt. VIII, animal creation Yt. IX, Mithra Yt. X, 
Sravsha Yt. XI, Rashme Yt. XII, Victory Yt. XIV. For other 
Yazatas see Yts. XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII. 



60 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

Iran. The recognition of these genii probably dates 
from very early times. They help Ahura Mazda 
and also mankind by warning against evil, keeping 
guard, and promoting all that is useful and advan- 
tageous. Special worship is paid to these good 
genii. The first month of the year is sacred to their 
name, and a festival of several days is held in their 
honor. The thirteenth yast is devoted to their praise. 

Just as each principal Yazatas is associated with 
some Amesha Spenta, so there are a number of lesser 
divine beings associated with the Yazatas them- 
selves. They are coadjutors, auxiliaries of the 
angels. Most of these spiritual creations are em- 
bodiments of virtues or personifications of noble 
traits. Fabulous or mythological creatures are also 
recognized, but the fact need only be mentioned. 
Belief in them, perhaps, is tolerated because they are 
survivals from an older stage of the religion. 

A sufficient outline has been given of the host of 
heaven, so that, in order to our purpose, only a little 
need be said of the opposing powers of darkness. 
Zoroastrianism attempted the solution of the prob- 
lem of evil by maintaining from the beginning, a 
dualism of forces, one good and beneficent, the other 
evil and destructive. On the one hand is Ahura 
Mazda supported in his work by the archangels and 
angels, on the other hand is Angro Mainyu sur- 
rounded by a body of evil spirits and demons. Angro 
Mainyu is the highest, the prince among the evil 
spirits. He is the counterpart of Ahura Mazda, 



The Host of Heaven 61 

bringing forth only evil, while the latter brings forth 
only good. He existed along with Ahura Mazda as 
is expressed clearly in the Gathas : 

"The two spirits who first of all existed, the twins 

proclaimed to me of themselves. 
The good and the bad in thoughts, words, and works, 
And of those two the intelligent selected the right 

one, but fools did not so. 
When the two spirits came first together, in order to 

create 
Life and death, and (to order) how the world should 

be at the end, 
Then the most evil one appeared on the side of the 

impious, but the best spirit appeared on that 

of the pious." 28 

The same antagonism is expressed in the following : 

"I will announce the two spirits at the beginning of 

the world: 
Of them spake the blissful also unto the destructive : 
Neither our thoughts, nor our commands, nor our 

intelligence, 
Nor our belief, nor our speeches, nor our deeds, 
Nor our doctrines nor our souls correspond." 29 

Whoever causes goodness, at the same time in- 
jures the evil spirit. No wonder, then, Angro 
Mainyu was distressed at the birth of Zarathustra 

28. Ys. XXX :3-4- 

29. Ys. XLV:2. 



62 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

who brought men to the true faith and to piety. His 
distress is painful: "Born, alas, is the holy Zara- 
thustra in the house of Porushaspa. How can we 
contrive his destruction? He is a blow against the 
Daivas, he withstands the Daivas, he is an opponent 
of the Drujas; the worshippers of the demons shall 
fall down headlong." 30 

As Ahura Mazda surrounded by the Amesha 
Spenta and Yazatas is in the kingdom of light, so 
Angro Mainyu surrounded by the demons is in the 
kingdom of night and darkness. To the Ameshr 
Spenta the group of six arch-demons are opposed as 
enemies in the same way as their chief and prince is 
opposed to Ahura Mazda. 31 They form the imme- 
diate associates, to some extent the court of Angro 
Mainyu. The special foe against Vohu-Mano is 
Akomano, 32 the evil mind; against Asha-Vahista is 
Andra or Indra, perhaps an old nature god who in 
the new religion is banished to the company of dem- 
ons; against Khshathra is Saru, (the tyrant) ; against 
Spenta Armaiti, Naoghatya is named, who is some- 
times identified with, sometimes distinguished from 
Taromat, (arrogance). Over against Haurvatat 
and Ameretat are Taru and Zarika, evil hunger and 
evil thirst. The arch fiends aim to destroy the work 
and influence of the good spirits. There are many 
other evil spirits "co-operating and confederate with 

30. Vd. XIX : 4 6. See also Dk. VII 14, 36, 57-62, Vd. XIX: 
1-4, Zspm XIV :8. 

31. Yt. XIX :o6, Bund. XXX :2Q, 1 .27, III :2. 

32. Bund. XXX \2% Yt. XIX :o6, Bund. XXVIII 7-14. 



The Host of Heaven 63 

them." 33 "Demons, too, who are furies are in great 
multitude. They are demons of ruin, pain, and 
growing old, producers of vexation and vile, re- 
vivers of grief, the progeny of gloom, and vileness, 
who are many, very numerous, and very notorious." 34 
Individual demons need not be further mentioned. 
Enough has been said to indicate the belief in a great 
body of evil spirits, some of which appear more 
prominent and powerful than others. 

We have then to inquire how the host of heaven, 
and the host of hell, in Zoroastrianism, are related to 
parallel conceptions in Judaism. Much has been 
written concerning Jewish angels and demons, and 
only the ideas that bear upon our discussion will be 
touched. 

In the earlier Hebrew days the angel is represent- 
ed as a being charged with divine authority. It is 
such a being that appears to Hagar, 35 to Joshua, 36 
and to Manoah. 37 It is a distinct angel or messenger, 
for Yahveh could not be called His own messenger. 
The fact that evil spirits are said to be sent from 
Yahveh, perhaps may be due to the nature of their 
work rather than to the character of the spirits. 38 
But there are many traces of magic, and necromancy 
is a well defined art. 39 The angels stand as simple 
ministers or messengers of Yahveh, sometimes ap- 

33. Bund. XXVIII: 12, 14-46. 

34. Bund. XXVIII :37-38. 

35. Gen. XVI 7-13. 

36. Josh. V:i3, 15. 

37. Judg. XIII:i5-2i. 

38. Judg. IX 123, I Sam. XVI: 14-23. 

39. I Sam. XVI :23, II Ki. Ill 115, I Sam. XXVIII :3-20, Isa. 
VIII :iq, XXIX .4. 



$4- Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

pearing in bodily shape. In pre-exilic times they be- 
long to popular rather than to prophetic religion. 
They occur in the earlier books almost exclusviely in 
the so-called folk-lore stories while the prophets are 
nearly silent concerning them. 40 After the exile, how- 
ever, angels spring into prominence and are a distinc- 
tive feature of the religion. Thisprominence is seen in 
the writings of Ezekiel and Zechariah. The concep- 
tions of these writers is far surpassed by later Juda- 
ism. For then we discover the highly developed 
system and hierarchy of angels, which is represented 
in Daniel and Enoch, and in still later times is every- 
where recognized. It became in time a vast and 
intricate system colored by prurient imagination, 
superstition, and foreign elements, and is described 
in the most hyperbolic language. In the time in 
which the Jews were in touch with the Persian re- 
ligion, not only a complete system of angels was de- 
veloped, but we find the abstract idea of angels and 
spirits, and names and numbers for spirits all of 
which is parallel to Zoroastrian conceptions. Yahveh 
is represented as surrounded by a great multitude of 
angels who do His bidding. 41 Among these there 
are archangels, sometimes they are called Watchers 
and Holy Ones, 42 sometimes they are distinctly re- 

140. Angels are mentioned 15 times in Genesis, 10 times in the 
Balaam story, 10 times in the story of Manoah, 22 times in all 
of Judges, 14 times in Samuel and Kings. See Weber, "System 
der pal. Theologie," §§ 34, 35, 48, 54. 

41. Psa. LXVIII:i7, CIII :20, CIV 14, CXLVIII :2, II Esdras 
11:42, 46, II Macca. X:2Q, Enoch Xn-15, VI 13, XVI :66. 

42. Dan. IV :i3, 17, 23, cf. I Tim. V :2i, Enoch XII .2, 3, XIV : 
1, XV: 18. 



The Host of Heaven 65 

ferred to as the seven holy angels. "I am Raphael, 
one of the seven holy angels, which present the pray- 
ers of the saints, and go in before the glory of the 
Holy One." 43 As Ahura Mazda was recognized as 
one of the Amesha Spenta, and together they were 
called the seven Immortal or Holy Ones, it seems 
probable that the developed Jewish conception which 
came into prominence at this time had a Persian 
source. This is implied further in the number seven 
often occurring in sacred symbolisms. 44 It is after 
Persian influence that we find names given to the 
archangels, Gabriel, 45 Michael, 46 Uhiel, 47 Raphael. 
The Book of Enoch names the whole seven arch- 
angels. 48 Long lists of names of angels occur in 
Enoch, and in other later literature. 49 The names of 
the Biblical angels are Hebrew, which we would ex- 
pect on the supposition that the Jews took general 
conceptions from the Persians and molded them in 
accordance with their own habits of mind. In the 
development of these ideas for which Judaism was 
so largely indebted to Persia, we find, however, the 
name of one Persian daeva, Asmodcus. 50 The 
Fravashis in the Zoroastrian faith are at once the 
souls of the deceased, and the protecting spirits of 

43- Tobit XII :i5, also Enoch XX, cf. Rev. V:5, VIII :2. 

44. Ezek. XL:22, 26, XLIII 125-26, XLIV:26, XLV:22, 23, 25, 
Zek. 111:9, IV :2, 10, Dan. IV:i6, 23, IX 125, cf. Rev. V :6. 

45. Dan. VIII :i6, IX:2i, cf. Jude 9. Rev. XII 7. Luke 
1:19-26. 4. Dan. X:i3, 21, XII :i, 5-7. 

46. II Esdras IV :i, and 6. Job III 117, V 14, XII :i5, VIII :2. 

47. Enoch XX: 1 -7. 

48. Enoch XX. 

49. Bereshith R. Talmud, 48, 56. 

50. Tobit 111:8. 



66 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

the living, created before their birth and surviving 
after their death. They appear in Judaism as 
guardian angels, 51 and perhaps are the good angels 
of the second Book of Maccabees. 52 The idea of 
angels as spirits, and of spirit as. representing the 
inward being of God is a Jewish conception at this 
time. 53 The personifications of wisdom in Job 54 and 
Proverbs, 55 and still more strongly in later litera- 
ture, 56 suggest the personifications of the Amesha 
Spenta in the Gathas. The Jews in such speculations 
had more to learn than they could teach. Later, 
Philo of Alexandria blended ideas from the Old 
Testament and Greek philosophy which he thought 
equally inspired. He framed his conception of the 
Swa/xcw, powers, logic, angels, which were agents be- 
tween God and the world. The Logos is their sum 
collectively, through whom God deals with the world 
and with men. The Logos is wisdom, creator, medi- 
ator, interpreting God to men, and being the God 
of imperfect men. Darmesteter, holding to a late 
origin of the Gathas, advanced the theory that the 
doctrine of the Amesha Spenta was due to Neo 
Platonic influences, that Vohn Mano was a reflection 
of Oeio<s Aoyos of Philo, and that the other Amesha 

51. Psa. XCI:ii, XXXIV 7, Zech. IV :i, Dan. X:i3, 20-21, 
cf., Matt. XVIII :io. 

52. II Macca. XI :6, XV -.23, also Enoch LXX:4, 9-12, Tobit 
V:2i, Acts XII -.15. 

53. Isa. XL, VIII :i6, LXIII 19-10, Job. XXVI 113, Psa. LI:i2, 
Dan. IV :8. 

54. Job XXVIII: 12-23. 

55. Prov. VIII:22-35. 

56. Ecclus. 1 :4, Wisd. IX 19-11, VII 125-29, et al. 



The Host of Heaven 67 

Spenta were parallel to Philo's Awa/xcts, powers. 57 
The manner in which Vohn Mano is spoken of in 
the Avesta is often strikingly parallel to expressions 
used of the Logos by Neo-Platonists. But some of 
the names of the Amesha Spenta were of common 
occurrence by the end of the Achaemeniari period, 
and the doctrine of archangels existed and was ac- 
cepted at that time. It seems more likely that Philo 
gathering ideas and elements from every source may 
have borrowed also from the rich Zoroastrian creed. 
Much that has been said concerning angels applies 
to the development of the idea of demons. The 
early traces of magic and necromancy already have 
been spoken of. 58 The conception of a personal 
spirit of evil who is hostile to Yahveh was a growth. 
In the days of Ahab a scene is presented from the 
councils of Yahveh in which a spirit is commissioned 
to be a lying spirit. 59 In the vision of Zechariah, 
there appears an angel to accuse Joshua, who bears 
for the first time the title, "Satan," the "Adversary." 60 
These are trusted officials; so is Satan in the prologue 
to the Book of Job, 61 but his attitude has become 
more antagonistic. The development is seen in the 
passage in which the chronicler makes Satan instead 
of the Lord move David to number Israel. 62 Satan 
develops into a distinct personality, an enemy of 

57. Jewish Quar. Review, Vol. VII, pp. 173-195. 

58. Page 63. 

59. I Ki. XXII 119-23. 

60. Zech. Ill: 1-2. 

61. Job. 1:6-12, II: 1-7. 

62. Page 48, II Sam. XXIV :i, compared with I Chron. 
XXI :i. 



68 Zoroastrianhm and Judaism 

Yahveh and all good, and he is surrounded by a 
hierarchy of evil spirits who do his will. The num- 
ber of demons is legion, and the names of many are 
given. 63 The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs 
mentions two groups of seven evil spirits, as if in 
contrast to the seven archangels. 64 Belief in the 
power of demons is an accepted faith. 65 Satan is 
the head and ruler of the evil spirits. 66 The begin- 
ning of all evil is ascribed to these evil angels. 67 
They bring only ruin and death to men. 68 The par- 
allel between Satan and Ahriman or Angro-Mainyu 
is obvious. But the Jews conceived of Satan as a 
fallen creature. His existence and the partial tri- 
umph of the powers of evil does not impugn the 
sovereignty of Yahvah. The archdemon is far from 
being equal to Him. The sovereignty of Ahura 
Mazda is, however, continually assailed by Angro 
Mainyu. In the Persian faith the sense of evil is so 
strong as to give rise to practically an evil deity. In 
the Jewish faith, the conception of Yahveh is so 
strong as to keep the evil powers in practical sub- 
ordination to Him. But for the development of a 
system of demons, with names and evil functions 
such as the Jews came to hold, they were probably 
borrowers from the Persian religion. 

63. Enoch VII 19. 

64. XV :8, LVIII-.I-22. Testa. Reuben. 

65. Josephus, Anc. Ant. VIII :2, 5. 

66. Enoch LIII :3, VIII, IX, X. 

67. Enoch LXIX, Wisd. 11:23-24, Ecclus XXI 127. 

68. Baruch IV 7, 35, Job. VI 7, 14, VIII :8. 



CHAPTER V 

NATURALISTIC TRAITS 

F N the Zoroastrian doctrine, the universe is a prod- 
A uct of the goodness of Ormazd. He called it into 
existence. It is marred only by the malicious attacks 
and deeds of Angro Mainyu, or Aharman, the 
Bundahis name. The earth is the scene of the con- 
flict between these two beings, the rulers of good and 
evil. Man is the centre of the universe, and his soul 
is at stake as the prize for which they contend. Two 
primeval spirits are assumed to exist at the begin- 
ning. 1 The good spirit, Ahura Mazda, dwells above 
in eternal light; the evil spirit lurks in eternal dark- 
ness. They meet and struggle in the realm of Time, 
which Ahura Mazda has carved out as a special 
period for the history of the world. 

This time forms an aeon of twelve thousand years, 
divided into four periods of three thousand years 
each. 2 Each of these is presided over by a sign of 
the Zodiac Perhaps in this Zodiacal system there 
may be Babylonian influences. The first three thou- 
sand years is the period of spiritual creation. Ahura 
Mazda at the outset, through his omniscience, knows 
of the existence of Aharman. He therefore produces 
the whole of his creation in a spiritual state, and 

i. Ys. XXX :3, XLV:2. 
2. Bund. I. 

6 9 



70 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

the creatures so produced, remain in a transcendental 
form for the first three thousand years of time. This 
primordial spiritual creation by Ahura Mazda is 
| exemplified in the Fravashis and alluded to in the 
Avesta. Aharman, ignorant but malicious, arises 
from the darkness and is confounded at seeing the 
light. Ahura Mazda proposes to the evil spirit a 
period of conflict for nine thousand years, because 
he knows that at the end the evil spirit will be un- 
done. On terms being accepted, he at once routs 
Aharman, who flees back to darkness and remains 
three thousand years in confusion. The weapon 
Ahura Mazda uses is the sacred prayer Ahura 
Vairya. This holy word resembles the part the 
Logos plays in Neo-Platonic ideas of creation. 3 

In the second three thousand years Ahura Mazda 
brings into tangible shape the creation which had 
hitherto existed only in spiritual form. At the same 
time Aharman produces demons and fiends which 
aid him in his warfare against heaven. The order of 
Ahura Mazda's material creation after the Amesha 
Spenta and the spirits, is, first, the sky; second, 
water; third, earth; fourth, plants; fifth, animals; 
sixth, mankind. The Fravashis, or celestial pro- 
totypes, also aid in this creation as they do in the 
management of the world. It is by deliberate choice 
that the guardian spirits of men, Fravashis, elect to 
be born into the world, in order to aid in the over- 
throw of Aharman and to win joys eternal. 4 

3. Bund. I. 

4. Bund. II :io, DK. VIII 7:11-13. 



Naturalistic Traits 71 

In the third three thousand years, Aharman hav- 
ing recovered from his confusion, and encouraged 
by the demoness Geh (like Milton's conception of 
sin), heeds his fiendish hosts and springs like a 
snake 5 through the sky down to the earth. The vault 
of heaven is shattered, earth is in distress, blight, 
corruption, disease, and noxious creatures are every- 
where found. 6 He assaults water, earth, plants, and 
the fire; pollutes them, and slays the primeval bull, 
(Gos), and the primal man (Gayomard). The 
heavenly angels finally gain the victory and hurl the 
fiends to hell beneath the earth, while they build a 
rampart around the sky to protect it against the 
adversary. But as the primordial bull and man pass 
away, they become the progenitors of all animal life 
and mankind. The remainder of these three thou- 
sand years is the history of the race and of the king- 
doms of earth till the coming of Zaratust, (Zara- 
thustra). 7 

Zaratust and his sons, Ausheta and Aushetar- 
mah, together with the coming of Saoshyant fill the 
Fourth period of three thousand years. At the close 
of this period, Ahura Mazda will triumph over 
Aharman, and good will be supreme. 8 

In the late traditions, and still more in the older 
literature, it is plain to see, that the pious mind of 

5. Bund. Ill :i-7. With Gen:i-24. 

6. Bund. III:i-i7, Zad-Spun. II. 

7. Bund. III:i8, IV :5, XXIV, XXVII, X, XIV, Yt. XIII :86- 
87. 

a Bund. XXX, XXXII .$-9. 



72 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

the old Iranian, beheld in all the phenomena and 
wonders of nature the ever-working power of the 
Deity. "This I ask Thee, O Ahura ! tell me aright: 
who by generation was the first father of the Righte- 
ous order within the world? Who gave the recur- 
ring sun and stars their undeviating way? Who 
established that whereby the moon waxes, and where- 
by she wanes save Thee? These things, O Great 
Creator! would I know, and others likewise still. 
This I ask thee, O Ahura ! tell me aright : Who from 
beneath hath sustained the earth and the clouds 
above, that they do not fall? Who made the waters 
and the plants? Who to the wind has yoked on the 
storm-clouds, the swift and fleetest two? Who O 
Great Creator! is the inspirer of the good thoughts 
within our souls? This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell 
me aright : Who, as a skillful artisan, hath made the 
lights and the darkness? Who, as thus skillful, hath 
made sleep and the zest of waking hours? Who 
spread the Auroras, the noontides and midnight, 
monitors to discerning man, duty's true guides?" 9 
In a similar manner the Achaemenian kings magnify 
Ahura Mazda as having created heaven, earth, and 
man. 

The idea of the universe is represented as one of 
intelligence and order. There is a geocentric concep- 
tion of the universe. The sky is regarded as three- 
fold, the supreme heaven, the gloomy abyss, and 

9. Ys. XLIV:3-5, Comp. Isa. XLV:7-i2, 18. 



Naturalistic Traits 73 

that which is between these two. 10 Above the at- 
mosphere about the earth comes the celestial sphere, 
in which the stars and constellations, and signs of the 
Zodiac are set. The moon and the sun are believed 
to occupy spheres beyond the stars. The abode of 
Ahura Mazda is above all in the supreme heaven. 
Different constellations guard the four quarters of 
heaven and the zenith, and each of these is presided 
over by a particular star. Planets and shooting stars 
mar the order of nature and they are regarded as 
the creatures of Aharman. 11 The laws of nature are 
subject to Ahura Mazda or his agents. He is the 
Lord of law, of right order, and of righteousness. 
The Zoroastrian conception of creation seems to 
be rather that of a forming or shaping of pre-existent 
matter, than a real creation ex nihilo. 12 If this is so, 
it is in contrast to the Jewish belief. 

Whether the Iranians thought of the earth as 
circular and flat or as spherical, is disputed, but the 
former is generally believed. 13 It was divided into 
seven zones or circles. 14 The Jews thought of the 
world as a disc, and to the earthly disc, the heavenly 
corresponded. 15 It is probable that the idea of the 
seven heavens in the Book of Enoch and the Testa- 

10. Bund. V:i-5, XII :i, Sh-1., Sh. VI '.3. 

11. Bund. 111:25, XXVIII -.43-44, Zad-Spm, IV '.3, 7- 

12. See H. T. Peck, "Semitic Theory of Creation," pp. 25-27 
and notes. 

13. The question is discussed in Casartelli, "Mazd. Religion," 
p. in. 

14. Ys. XXXII : 3, Yt VIII 140, XIII :o4- 

15. Isa. XL :22, Job. XXII 114, Prov. VIII .27. 







74 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

ments of the Twelve Patriarchs, may be a Persian 
addition. 

There is a fine description of the work of Yahveh 
in creation in the second Book of Esdras 16 Yahveh 
is alone supreme. In the Iranian account of creation 
there is in the earlier literature a recognition of an 
evil spirit as joint creator with Ahura Mazda. 17 This 
has no parallel in the Hebrew account. Generally, 
however, in the Avesta, and in the Achaemenian in- 
scriptions, the sole creatorship of Ahura Mazda is 
affirmed, and ideal perfection is attributed to all 
his works. Here there are marked likenesses to the 
Semitic theory of creation. The order in creation, 
the different periods, the supremacy of Ahura Maz- 
da, the ideal perfection of the newly created world, 
are paralleled in the legends of Genesis. 18 It is not 
likely that the similar ideas of creation in the Avesta 
were due to Jewish influence. 19 It seems more prob- 
able that the cosmogonic conceptions of both Per- 
sians and Jews were more or less fixed before they 
came into contact with each other. The Persian 
ideas of a fall and of a flood suggest Hebrew con- 
ceptions. 20 But no more so than parallel ideas among 
other peoples. We may very reasonably suppose 
that the theories of creation, the fall, and the flood 

16. II Esdras, III :i-6, 38-59. 

17. Ys. XXX. 

18. Gen. I-II 4a, II 4b-7. 

19. As Spiegel and Darmsteter, holding a late origin of the 

20. Bund. XV and Gen. Ill; Bund. VII, VI, 11:21-43 and 
Gen. VI:i4, VIII 113. 



Naturalistic Traits 75 

in the Semitic and Aryan races had a common origin v 
and that their point of union lies behind any written 
history. The very dissimilarities in the theories 
argue their common origin, rather than that one 
copied from the other. 21 

As to ideas of anthropology, the Iranians believed 
that Gayomard, the progenitor of the race, when 
dying, killed by Aharman, 22 emitted his semen, and 
from this there developed two beings who became 
the parents of mankind. Their first offspring were 
twins, male and female, which they devoured, but 
they suffered their following seven pairs of children 
to live. From those seven pairs the whole human 
family descended. 23 The Hebrew narrative in com- 
parison with this is simplicity itself. 24 

The people of the Avesta regarded man as con- 
sisting of body and soul, the material and the spirit- 
ual. The body is composed of numerous constitu- 
ents and members. Flesh, skin, bone, blood, fat are 
designated, and many parts of the body are named. 
The spiritual element of man exists previously to 
the material, and does not perish like the latter at 
death. The life of the individual in the hereafter 
will be discussed later. Generally five spiritual fac- 
ulties of man are recognized. 25 These are : spirit, 

21. It has been thought unnecessary to review the Biblical 
account of creation, as the facts are so familiar as to suggest 
themselves. 

22. Page 78. 

23. Bund. Ill -.17, 19-23, XV :i, 31, XXIV :i. 

24. Gen. II 7, 18-25. 

25. Ys. XXVI 14, 6, Yt. XIII: 149. 



*]6 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

reason, which watches over the corporeal functions 
of man, and probably is the least of the faculties of 
the soul; conscience, guarding the moral life of man; 
consciousness, or perception; the soul which gives 
freedom of the will, or the power of choice; and 
the Fravashi or guardian spirit. The Zoroastrian 
faith and philosophy recognized man's responsibility 
and accountability as will be pointed out under an- 
other heading. 

In the Jewish conception of man the duality 26 of 
his being is assumed throughout. His body is the 
physical mass in the same sense in which the Zoroas- 
trians understood it. His soul is the inseparable 
accompaniment of life with all its functions. The 
word spirit as a part of human nature is very nearly 
identical with that of soul. 27 A division of inward 
faculties is implied. 28 Conscience, moral affections, 
free-will and intellect are everywhere recognized. 
As many as seven spirits are spoken of in Apocryphal 
literature as being in man. 29 Many terms are used, 
however, which do not indicate faculties of the soul. 

26. Gen. II 7, II Esdras III 15. 

27. Prov. XXV 128, XVI 132, Eccle. VII :o, II Mace. III:2 4 . 

28. Prov. XVI :2. 

29. Test. Patriarchs, Reub. 11:3, also Exo. XXVIII :3, Mace. 
V:i4, Ki. XII :22, Job XX 13, Psa. LI:io, 11, Prov. XVI :i8, 32, 
Isa. XI :2, LXVI:2, Zech. XII :i, 10. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE EXPECTATION OF A REDEEMER 

f N the Zoroastrian creed the term Saoshyant is us- 
A ed to denote priest, deliverer, Saint. 1 It designates 
the leader of the goodly company who will aid at 
the general resurrection in renovating the world. The 
birth of the Saviour, Soashyant, is miraculous. "Za- 
ratust went near unto his wife Hvov three times, 
and each time the seed went to the ground; the 
angel Neryosang received the brilliance and strength 
of that seed, delivered it with care to the angel 
Anahid, and in time will blend it with a mother. 
Nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, and 
nine myriads of the guardian spirits of the righteous 
are entrusted with its protection, so that the demons 
may not injure it." 2 The seed is preserved in Lake 
Kasava, till at the end of the earthly cycle, the maid 
Eredat-fedhri, bathing in the lake will conceive by 
that seed and bring forth the Saviour, Saoshyant. 
His two fore-runners, Ukhshyat-ereta and Ukhshyat- 
Nemah, will be born in the same way of Srutat-fedhri 
and Vanghu-fedhri. 3 

"The victorious Saoshyant with his helpers shall 
restore the world, which henceforth never will grow 
old and never die, never decaying and never rotting, 
ever living and ever increasing, and master of its 

i. Ys. XLVIIIiq, Visp. V:i, Yt. XI:i7, Ys. XLVItf. 

2. Bund. XXXII :8, 9. Yt. XIII 162. 

3. Yt. XIII:i4i-i42. Vd. XIX 15. 

77 



78 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

wish, when the dead will rise, when life and im- 
mortality will come, and the world will be restored at 
its wish; when the creation will grow deathless, — 
the prosperous creation of the Good Spirit, — and 
the Drug shall perish, though she may rush on every 
side to kill the holy beings; she and her hundred- 
fold brood shall perish, as it is the will of the 
Lord." 4 In bringing to pass the wonderful and 
happy future, Saoshyant will be assisted by fifteen 
men and fifteen damsels. Together they perform a 
final sacrifice, the virtue of which will bring about 
the resurrection and the blessings of immortality. 
There will be a long conflict with evil but Saoshyant 
will be victorious. 5 

Are we to suppose that any of these conceptions 
were borrowed from Judaism? In the earliest Iran- 
ian literature there is expressed the hope of a coming 
Saviour. 6 The idea is certainly Zoroastrian. The 
worshipping Magi that centuries later came from 
the East to honor the Babe of Bethlehem were fa- 
miliar with the conception. There are striking re- 
semblances to the Judaeo-Christian ideas. The con- 
quering Saoshyant is preceded by two personages 
who prepare the way, he is born of a virgin mother, 
who conceives him in a miraculous manner. His 
coming will bring immortality to the righteous, de- 

4. Yt. XIX 189-90, 92-96, cf. Yt. XIII :i29, Dk. VII:8:55, 
Bund. XXX:4-33- 

5. Bund. XXX:i7-33- Ys. XLV:n. 

6. Ys. XLV:n, XLVI*, XLVIIIip, LIII:2, XII 7, XIX :20, 
UX:28. 



The Expectation of a Redeemer 79 

struction to the powers of evil, and will establish the 
sole sovereignty of Ahura Mazda. 

Parallel conceptions are found in individual proph- 
ets, but they do not represent the beliefs of the 
Jewish people. The earlier Jewish ideas of a Mes- 
siah were political and temporal. When in later 
times, ideal and spiritual conceptions are more fre- 
quently found, they do not even then displace the 
hopes of a political and temporal Saviour. The 
expectations centre about the nation. The deliverer 
is to be an ideal King and the viceroy of Yahveh. 
From their rulers they had realized only a partial 
good. As the years passed the fascination of the 
Messianic hope grew more hallowed and became the 
deepest passion in the heart of the nation. For a 
time Cyrus seemed to fulfil the role of deliverer. 
Zerubbabel in his turn became the centre of Mes- 
sianic hopes. Simon Maccabaeus was made high- 
priest-king, "until there should arise a faithful proph- 
et." 7 Feeling themselves to be without any present, 
the Jewish people threw themselves on the future. 
In contrast with this, the Zoroastrian conception of 1 
a Messiah, Saoshyant, who will give immortality 
and blessedness to all the righteous, is a lofty and 
spiritual hope. 

With the Jews, a spiritual interpretation of the 

Messianic hope was confined to the prophets and a 

few devout children of Yahveh. In following the 

expression of this hope, truth rather than theological 

7. Macca. XIV 141. 



80 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

prepossession is to be our guide. The spiritual and 
universal elements were only slowly recognized. The 
happy future of the righteous in contrast with the 
appalling misery of the wicked, through the coming 
of the Messiah, was a late doctrine with the masses 
of the people. 8 It is probable that the Zoroastrian 
faith, may have had influence in bringing this belief 
into prominence. A striking passage is in the book 
of Enoch. It is in answer to the question, who was 
the son of man. "This is the Son of man, to whom 
righteousness belongs, with whom righteousness has 
dwelt; and who will reveal all the treasures of that 
which is concealed; for the Lord of spirits has chosen 
Him. This Son of man whom thou beholdest, shall 
raise up kings and the mighty from their couches, 
and the powerful from their thrones; shall loosen 
the bridles of the powerful, and break in pieces the 
teeth of sinners." 9 The date of this passage has 
been questioned, yet it probably was written in pre- 
christian times. 10 

A Redeemer who would rule in righteousness and 
bring peace to earth, was promised by Jewish proph- 
ets, but he was expected to be a national hero who 
would deliver Israel first. The nations were to be 
blessed through Israel and Israel's Redeemer. 

8. II Esdras 11:34, XII 132-34, Enoch LX 14-10, 14-18, Enoch 
LXVI:4, LXVIII :35-37, 39-41, LXX 122-24, Dan. VII :o, 13, 18, 
22, 27. 

9. Enoch XLVI:i-3, XLVII:3-4, L-IX 

10. A. Edersheim, "Life of Jesus," vol. I, pg. 173 n^. 



CHAPTER VII 

CIVIL, SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL REGULATIONS 

[""* O make an extended comparison between Zo- 
A roastrianism and Judaism in their social cus- 
toms, and civil and ceremonial laws would be most 
interesting. The material is abundant, and the field 
almost untouched. We are aiming, however, to 
place the two religious systems in comparison, rather 
than to give an exhaustive treatment of any one idea 
or principle in the two religions. Under this head- 
ing, therefore, the comparisons made should be 
taken as suggestive only. Our treatment will be 
brief, with only a few selected details. 

'Civil laws. In treating of the legal usuages of 
the Avestan people it is difficult if not impossible 
always to separate them from the rules of the priest- 
hood. The people of the Avesta are settled agricul- 
turalists. The family forms the unit of the political 
organization. The clan is made up of a number of 
families, while the tribe is formed of a number of 
clans. Little is said of a political body in the early 
literature. 1 The master of the house, the clan-lord, 
tribe-lord, and chieftain of the land are recognized 
as having authority in their (respective spheres. 2 
"Good kings and evil monarchs" are sharply dis- 

i. Ys. XXX :3, 4, XLIX:7, XXXI :i6, Yt. X:2 9 , 87. 
2. Ys. IX:27, XIX :i8, Yt. X:i7-i8, Vsp. 111:2, Vd VII 141. 

8l 



82 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

tinguished. 3 The aim of the literature is religious, 
therefore little attention is paid to civil regulations. 
These are brought under ceremonial rules, and rep- 
resent the views of the sacerdotal class. They will 
be treated later. The same is true of secular laws in 
Judaism. In the Persian government there was a 
council of state composed of the seven princes who 
"see the king's face." 4 Perhaps the seven princes 
were regarded as representing the seven Amesha 
Spenta. In the administration there were satraps 
and prefects, necessitating the employment of posts 
and means of conveyance. A vivid picture of such 
an organization is given in Esther. 5 Herodotus says 
of the system, "nothing mortal travels so fast." 6 
Twelve parts of the armour of soldiers are enumer- 
ated in one section of the Avesta. 7 A Pahlavi pas- 
sage spiritualizes the armour of a warrior in a 
manner worthy of comparison with the familiar 
Biblical passage. 8 The Jews, on the other hand, 
though they had had many warriors and an organiz- 
ed kingdom were not in a real sense political. The 
determinative element was religious. Their state 
was a theocracy, their laws were religious and cere- 
monial. 

Caste. There was no rigid caste system either in 

3. Ys. XLVIII:s, 10. 

4. Ezra VII: 14, Esther 1:14. 

5. Esther VIII -.9-10. 

6. Herod VIII 198. 

7. Vd. XIV -.9, also Yt. XIII 71-72/ and Herod VII :6i. Vd. 
XVII :io, Yt. I:i8-i9, X 139-40, 128-132. 

8. Main. Kh. XLIII7-13, with Isa. LIX:i7, Eph. VI 114-17. 



Civil, Social and Ceremonial Regulations 83 

Zoroastrianism or in Judaism. But there were 
classes or orders among the people. The division 
of the people into priests, warriors, and tillers of the 
soil frequently is met with in the Avesta. The in- 
stitution of these separate orders is traced to Zara- 
thustra. He is distinctly called the first Priest, the 
first Warrior, and the first Plougher of the ground. 9 
In the Bundehesh, the three sons of Zarathustra are 
connected with these three classes. The first was the 
head of the priests. The second was the commander- 
in-chief in war. The third was the chief of the 
agricultural population. 10 These orders were not 
castes, for they were not hereditary, nor was inter- 
marriage forbidden. The three orders are blended 
by all being derived from Zarathustra. It is implied 
that a son in any class might be born in the same 
home. 11 

An artisan class is also sometimes mentioned. 12 
Labor was held in respect. By cultivating a field 
a man was performing a religious act to the glory of 
Ahura Mazda. There probably was a servile class, 
which may have been composed only of captives 
taken in war. But it seems likely too that a free 
man might pawn away his freedom. 13 The spirit 
and character of the Zoroastrian faith however is 
against slavery. 

9. Yt. XIII :88-8g. 

10. Bund. XXXII :s. 

11. Ys. XI :6. 

12. Ys. XIX:i7-i8, Herod 1:125, 101. 

13. Vd. IV .2. 



84 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

These ideas are similar to those in Judaism. In 
the earlier days the Jews were a nomadic people. 
They developed into an agricultural and commercial 
race. There was no warrior class in Judaism. The 
priesthood stands distinct as an institution, but was 
not absolutely exclusive. There were Hebrew slaves, 
but their subjection was limited in time. 14 Slavery 
was a temporary expedient. 

The place of woman. The position of woman 
among the Iranian people was in no way a degrading 
one. The good deeds of women are alluded to in the 
same manner as the good deeds of men. 15 There are 
just men and just women, 16 male and female saints. 17 
We find the names of women immortalized for the 
good they have done. 18 The prayers of bad women 
are of no avail 19 In order to marry, the girl should 
be past her fifteenth year. 20 A wife is an honor to 
the house. 21 She must be pure and her reputation 
unstained. 22 She is the mistress of the house, just 
as the husband is the master of the house. 23 She is 
not his slave but his companion. A maiden longs for 
a husband, and one who is young, strong, and learn- 
ed. 24 But when Zarathustra is represented as asking 



Deut. XV: 12, Lev. XXV 139. Deut. XXIII 115. 

Ys. I:i6, XIII 7, Yt. XIII :i54, also Herod II :i. 

Ys. VIII :3, XVI :o, LXXIiio, LXVIII:i2-i3. 

Ys. VII :27, LVIII:S. 

Yt. XIII:i39-i40, 148-149, Ys. XXXVI :8. 

Yt. XVII 154, 57- 

Vd. XIV :i5. 

Vd. 111:3. 

Vd. XIV :i5. 

Vd. XII 7, Gals. IV '.9. 

Yt. V:87, XV:40, Vd 111:24. 



Civil, Social and Ceremonial Regulations 85 

to see the face of the maid, whom his father sought 
as bride for him, "whether its appearance be de- 
sirable, the bride turned away her face from him." 25 

Probably the marriage relation often was founded 
on love and piety. Perhaps the following may have 
been an old marriage formula: "Monitions for the 
marrying. I speak to you maidens, to you, I who 
know them; and heed ye my sayings: By these laws 
of the faith which I utter, obtain ye the life of the 
Good Mind on earth and in heaven. And to you 
bride and bridegroom, let each one the other in 
Righteousness cherish; thus alone unto each shall the 
home-life be happy." 26 There seems to be no evi- 
dence against the practice of polygamy. Yet mon- 
ogamy seems sometimes implied. 27 Children were 
looked upon as a blessing, and it was a calamity and 
a sign of impiety to be childless. 28 

In Judaism, the position of woman generally was 
lower than that of man, but she had a large degree 
of freedom. She was looked upon as her husband's 
property. 29 There was always a high conception of 
the purity of woman. 30 Evil women are denounced 
for introducing foreign worship, a fact which also 
indicates their influence. 31 In the marriage relation 

25. Zad-Spm. XX: 12. 

26. LV:5, also 3-4. 

27. Bund. XXX '.26, and most of above references. 

28. Ys. XI :3, Yt. XV 140, Darius in the Behistum Inscription 
prays that the enemies of Ahura Mazda may be childless. 

29. Exo. XX:i7, Deut. V 131. 

30. Lev. XVIII, XXI: 7, 9, Jer. XIII 127, Ezek. XVI :i5, Isa. 
LVII :3 ff, et al. 

31. Ezek. VIII :i4, Jer. VII :i8, XLIV:i5, II Ki. XXIII .7. 



86 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

"a virtuous woman was a crown to her husband," 32 
and the ideal is that she was to be his companion. 33 
Monogamy was the general practice. Children were 
a delight to a home, and the childless wife was an 
object of reproach. 34 

Religious virtues. More will be said of re- 
ligious virtues later, when morals and ethics are 
treated. Here some of the external elements more 
commonly called virtues will be pointed out. The 
religion of Zarathustra is a religion of culture, of 
spiritual and moral progress. It was a religion of 
energy and action, a religion of thrift. Every daily 
duty was sacred. Poverty and asceticism have no 
place among its virtues. There was an obligation to 
help those within the faith, but not the impious or 
strangers. 35 

Charity was extended to the brute creation, pro- 
vided they belong to the species created by Ahura 
Mazda. If any of them were provoked, their com- 
plaints would be heard in heaven. The twenty-ninth 
Yasua contains the lament of the kine, and assurance 
is given of better treatment through the work of 
Zarathustra. The dog, too, receives special re- 
ligious care and attention. 36 The clearing and cul- 
tivation of the soil, and the tending of flocks are 
viewed from the standpoint of religious duty. 37 

32. Prov. XII :4, XXXI: 10. 

33. Mai. II: 14, Deut. XIII :6, Prov. XV 117, Joel 1:8. 

34. Psa. CXXVII :5, CXXVIII :*3, Prov. XVII :6. 

35. Vd. IV :i, 49, 111:34-35, XVIII :i2, Ys. XXXIV .-5, LIII:8. 

36. Vd. XIII, XV:2o-5i. 

37. Ys. XXIX :6, XXXI:o-io, Vd. -111:23, 30-32. 



Civil, Social and Ceremonial Regulations 87 

"Zarathustra nourished the poor, foddered the cat- 
tle, brought firewood to the fire." 38 

The propagation of the religion is a part of its 
essence. 39 At the same time there is an intense hatred 
against the wicked which is parallel to ideas often 
found in the Old Testament. 40 Much of the Vendi- 
dad is devoted to fighting and defeating the daevas. 

The Jews did not carry their religion to such an 
extent as the Zoroastrians into their daily duties, or 
into their treatment of animals. Some animals were 
more sacred than others, but not in the sense in which 
the Zoroastrians understood the animal creation, as 
creatures of Ahura Mazda and creatures of Angro- 
Mainyu. The mention of dogs in the later literature 
may probably be due to Persian influence. 41 The 
dog among the Jews, however, was an unclean an- 
imal. All animals that do not have cloven hoofs and 
do not chew the cud were impure. 42 In Judaism kind- 
ness was to be shown to the whole animal creation. 
All land was recognized as belonging to Yahveh, and 
to be cultivated and held in trust for Him. The poor 
were to receive special attention, and provision was 
made for the care of the stranger. Almsgiving was 
an obligation. The book of Tobit may be called a 
book on almsgiving. 43 Persian influence may account 

38. Zad-Spm. XX 115-16. 

39. Ys. XXVIII :s. 

40. Ys. XXXI :i8, 20, XLIII:8, XLIV:i4-i5, XLV7, XLVI: 
4-6, 11, et al, Psa. XCIV:i-S, 23, CXLV:20, et al. 

41. Psa. LIX:i4-i5, Deut. XXIII :i8, Job. V:i6, Ecclus. 
XIII:i7-i8. 

42. Lev. XI, Deut. XIV. 

43. See Tobit. and Ecclus. Ill 130, XII 13. 



88 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

for much of this. 

Rules for purification and concerning 
defilement. The whole life of the faithful Zoro- 
astrian was a conflict with the powers of darkness, 
with Angro Mainyu and his demons. Among the 
means of succor that Ahura Mazda gives, is the holy 
word revealed to Zarathustra and the prayers taught 
him. 44 Among the most often repeated and most 
highly valued forms of prayer is the Ahuna-vairya, 
the prayer Ahura Mazda is said to have pronounced 
before "the sky, before the waters, before the land, 
before the cattle and the plants," and before man- 
kind existed. This prayer was recited by Zara- 
thustra, 45 and was to be recited by men as long as 
the earth existed. 

There were prayers for daily duties, 46 and prayers 
for different forms of purification. 47 Often the pray- 
ers were to be repeated and sometimes repeated 
many times. The words themselves were thought to 
contain some strange, almost magical power, and the 
faultless recitation of them was believed to be effi- 
cacious. Fire was the holiest and purest element, 
the reflection of Ahura Mazda, and symbol of moral 
purity. It was always a means of defence against 
the demons, and during the night, when they are at 
work, its light would frighten them away. "And we 
pray likewise for thy fire, O Ahura ! strong through 

44. Vd. XIX :2, 9, Ys. LV:2. 

45. Ys. XIX:i-i5, IX: 14. 

46. Vd. XVIII 143, 49, XVII .7. 

47. VIII :ip, XI, XII, XIX :22. 



Civil, Social and Ceremonial Regulations 89 

righteousness as it is, most swift, most powerful to 
the house with joy receiving it, in many ways our 
help, but to the hater, O Mazda ! it is a steadfast 
harm as if with weapons hurled from the hands." 48 
Prayers and the fire were among the means of 
purification. The formalities and ceremonies of 
purification were multiplied to an almost endless ex- 
tent. The rites were long and frequent, and complex 
by many manual acts and incantations. Impurity 
often came from contact with an impure body. Not 
only men, but beasts and even utensils might be pol- 
luted. The manner and degrees of pollution are 
pointed out in detail in the Avesta. The purification 
of the land, of utensils and clothes, of animals, of 
women after their menses and childbirth, of men 
for every pollution is prescribed by elaborate rules. 
The Vendidad, the religious code of the Zoroas- 
trians, is more minute than the Jewish Leviticus. 49 
The priests had a high place in the Iranian faith. 
They kept the sacred fire, performed purification 
acts, and fulfilled sacrificial function. 50 Offerings 
consisted of flowers, bread, fruit, perfumes, and 
there were also animal sacrifices. 51 Herodotus rec- 
ognizes these, and at the same time he says the Per- 
sians "had no images, no temples and no altars." 52 

48. XXXIV .4. See also Vd. XVIII: 18-23, 27, VIII 73 ff, 
Ys. LXII, XVII :n, Bund. XVII 15-8. 

49. See Vendidad. 

50. Vd. XVIII :i-6, IX:47, 49- 

51. Yt. V:2i, 25, 29, 107, 108, 112, 116, IX :3, 8, 13 Yt. XV 7, 
15, Yt. XVII :2 4 , 28, Vd. XVIII 70, XXII 13-4. 

52. Herod 1:131-132. 



90 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

This was mainly true, though the Persians had altars 
which were sometimes covered. 

The priests were to maintain their authority. They 
were to inflict punishment for transgressions against 
the ritual and ceremonial laws. It is striking that 
for almost every law given in the Vendidad, there is 
added at the same time the punishment that shall be 
inflicted upon the guilty in case of transgression. 
The stereotyped expression for a man's committing 
transgression is, u what is the penalty that he shall 
pay." 53 The germs and general ideas of the system 
thus elaborated in the later Avesta, are distinctly 
found in the Gathas. 54 But in the Gathas the concep- 
tions are more mental and spiritual. 

In Judaism, the manner and times of prayer were 
sometimes exactly parallel to Zoroastrian habits, 55 
and they equally covered nearly every event of 
life. With the Jews fire was sacred but not in the 
sense in which the Zoroastrians held it. It was to 
have been always kept burning in the temple. 56 It 
was a symbol of Yahveh, 57 and a means of purifica- 
tion. The work of the priests, and the ceremonial 
regulations, were elaborate and more strictly defined 
in the Persian period than they had been before. 
Cleanness or uncleanness was applied to land, 

53. Vd. 111:36 seq. V:i4, 43, VI '.4, Vlll '.24, XVIII 167. 

54. Ys. XXXIV :6, XLV:6, 8, 10, L:4, 9- 

55. Dan. VI:io, Psa. LV:i7, LXXXVIII 113, CXIX:i47, I Ki. 
VIII : 4 8. 

56. Lev. VI:i2-i3. 

57. Exo. 111:2, XIII :2i, XIX :i8, Dan. VIl:g-io, Mai 111:2, 
II Macca. 1:18-35. 



Civil, Social and Ceremonial Regulations 91 

dwellings, clothes, utensils, animals, men and 
women, and strict minute laws of purification were 
enforced. Religious offerings might include a great 
number of objects, as in the Zoroastrian faith. There 
were punishments prescribed for every violation of 
the ritual and ceremonial law. A comparison be- 
tween the purification laws in the two religions 
shows many striking resemblances. The effect of 
the presence of, or the contact with, the dead is a 
single illustration. The Zoroastrians, however, car- 
ried their laws concerning the dead, as well as many 
other purification and ceremonial laws to much 
greater lengths than the Jews. 58 

The rapid development in post-exilic times of the 
ritualistic and ceremonial regulations, that so char- 
acterized later Judaism, we must attribute in part to 
the rigorous observance by the Persians of more 
stringent laws and rites. Persian influence is prob- 
ably responsible for Jewish ceremonialism attaining 
such far-reaching importance. The feast of Pur- 
rin, in honor of the deliverance from the schemes 
of Haman, may be an adopted Persian festival. 59 

58. Vd. VI, VII, VIII, Num. XIX :i6, Jer. XVI '.4, XXV '.33. 

59. Esther IX 117-32, II Macca. XV '.36, Josephus Ant. XI :6, 
13. 



CHAPTER VIII 

MORALS AND ETHICS 

P URITY in thoughts, in words and in deeds, is 
A a summary of the ethical life of the Zoroastrian. 
It includes all moral precepts. This ideal is constant- 
ly found throughout the A vest a. There is much 
externality in the Iranian religion as has been shown, 
already, but the subjective element is also strong. 
"Thou Righteousness, when shall I see thee, know- 
ing the Good Mind, and above all the personified 
Obedience, which constitutes the way to the most 
beneficient Ahura Mazda." 2 An external offering or 
sacrifice is made valuable through the good thoughts, 
words and deeds of an individual. 3 Those who are 
not pure in thought are far from the Good Mind of 
Ahura Mazda. 4 "Any one in the world here below 
can win purity for himself, namely, when he cleanses 
himself with good thoughts, words, and deeds. The 
will of the Lord is the law of holiness." 

"Holiness is the best of all good. Happy, happy 
the man who is holy with perfect holiness." 5 Many 
chapters of the eighth Dinkard close with the words, 
"Righteousness is perfect excellence." 6 In the Gathas 

1. Ys. XXX :3, XLV:8, Vsp. 11:5, Yt. V:i8. 

2. Ys. XXVIII :6. 

3. Ys. XXXIV :3, Gah. IV :o, Yt. XXII 114. 

4. Ys. XXXIV :8. 

5. Vd. X: 18-20, XIX :22. 

6. Dk. VIII :2 15, 7 124, et al. 

92 



Morals and Ethics 93 

< 

Ahura Mazda, in response to prayer, is able to give 
"helpful grace" and "meet the spirit's need." 7 In 
the ten admonitions given in a chapter of the Pahlavi 
literature is the following, "keep the way of the 
good open to your house, for the sake of making 
righteousness welcome in your abode." 8 

Love of truth is a characteristic of those in the 
Iranian faith. Nothing is more shameful than a lie. 
"The man of truth shall be more resplendent than 
the sun; the man of a lie goeth straightway to the 
demon whence he cometh." 9 Such lofty conceptions 
implied benevolence, charity, uprightness, eschewing 
of deceit and theft, purity of body as well as soul, 
temperance, restraint, and these are all in the teach- 
ings of the faith. 

As Ahura Mazda looks upon the smallest sin with 
displeasure, so Yahveh knows the secrets of all 
hearts. 10 The high moral conceptions of deity ex- 
alted the moral standards of the people. Among^ 
the Zoroastrians, morality was identified with the^ 
holy will of Ahura Mazda, and among the Jews with 
the holy will of Yahveh. The character of Yahveh 
was the final rule for men. 11 The philosophy of the 
Wisdom Books reaches the same conclusion that it 
was "the whole of man" to "fear Yahveh and keep 

7. Ys. XLVI:2. 

8. Zad-Spm. XXIV 110-19, also XXI-15-16, 18. 

9. Herod 1 1138, 183, Vd. IV :i-2, Sik-G-Vig VIII :i28-i30, Ys. 
XXXI :2. 

10. Ys. XXXI :i3, and Psa. CXXXIX, XLIV:2i, I Chron. 
XXIX 19. 

11. Psa. XVIII 125-26, XXV:8-io, XXXIII :$, XCVII:io-i2. 



94 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

His commandments." 12 The will of Yahveh had 
been announced by priests and prophets, and then 
came to be embodied in the legal codes. 

In pre-exilic times the ethical standards of the 
people were extremely low. The few writers who 
have higher conceptions, give little prominence to 
the inward life. The sins are mostly external and 
national. The Deuteronomist, Jeremiah and Eze- 
kiel introduce the emphasis upon the inwardness of 
religion. In post-exilic times this receives its highest 
development in the Psalms. The upright man is 
good in thought and word and deed. 13 But much of 
post-exilic literature is still external in its conceptions 
of holiness and sin. 

The ethical standard of the Zoroastrian faith 
is not inferior to that in Judaism. The emphasis 
placed upon inwardness and spirituality in religion, 
even suggest whether Judaism may not have been 
helped to a grasping of spiritual conceptions by the 
followers of Zarathustra. 

A primal factor of the morals and ethics of the 
ranian religion is the freedom of the will. 14 Every 
individual must choose to be on the side of Ahura 
Mazda, or on the side of Angro Mainyu, and he 
must fulfil the duties which are consequently imposed 
upon him. Indifferentism or failure to choose is 
impossible. Every good deed a man does increases 

12. Eccle. XI:i3. 

13. Psa. XIX 112-14, XV:2-3, LXX VIII 117-18, LI:i2-i3. Deut. 
VI:25, Prov. IV 123, et al. 

14. Ys. XXX:2-3, XXXI :u, 20, XLVIno-13, LI:6. 



.■ 



Morals and Ethics 95 

the power of good, every evil deed the power of 
evil. Zarathustra declared himself sent to assist 
men to the good. 15 Freedom to choose means re- 
sponsibility. This is a strong characteristic of the 
religion. A strict watch is kept by the divinities over 
every individual, and all deeds are recorded. Even 
the demons were not evil by nature, but became so by 
choosing to place themselves in opposition to Ahura 
Mazda. 16 Such moral earnestness colored the whole 
life of the Zoroastrian. In Jewish writings there is 
everywhere recognized, or assumed, the same free- 
dom of man's will. He is under no coercion. Every 
man is responsible for his deeds. 17 The Iranian and 
Jewish faiths are precisely the same in this respect. 

15. Ys. XXXI :2. 

16. Ys. XXX:3-6. 

17. I Chron. XXVIII :g, Eccle. XI :g, Ezek. XXXIII :i-ig, 
Mai. Ill: 16. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE FUTURE LIFE 

/^\NLY an outline treatment of the Zoroastrian 
^^ and Jewish conceptions of a future life will be 
attempted. But sufficient for a fair comparison to 
be made. When death takes place the soul remains 
in the vicinity of the body for three days, and three 
nights which indicates a kind of transitional stage, 
during which the soul of the good man has a fore- 
taste of the delights of Paradise and that of the 
evil man the torments of Hell. 1 The body becomes 
a prey of the demons who rejoice over its death. 2 
Impurity was communicated to everything in the 
house, and to all who stood in any relationship to 
the dead. There was an elaborate series of cere- 
monies for purification to which reference already 
has been made. 

After the three days and three nights during 
which the happy pious soul has been lingering about 
the body, on the dawn of the fourth day the soul 
passes over the Chinvat Bridge. The pious soul 
meets a balmy and sweet scented wind. "It seems 
to him as if his own conscience were advancing to 
him in that wind, in 'the shape of a maiden fair, 
bright, white-armed, strong, tall-formed, high- 

i. Yt. XXII. 

2. Vd. VII :2, 30, III: 14, IX 140. 

96 



The Future Life 97 

standing, thick-breasted, beautiful of body, noble, 
of a glorious seed, of the size of a maid in her fif- 
teenth year, as fair as the fairest things in the 
world.' " In response to the soul's question as to 
who she is, she answers, "O thou youth of good 
thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good 
religion, I am thine own conscience;" and then re- 
counts the good works which the soul accomplished 
during its earthly career. 3 

Through three steps the faithful soul passes into 
the Paradise of good thoughts, of good words, and ~^Q- 
of good deeds, and at the fourth step into the Para- 
dise of Endless Light, the House of Song, where 
Ahura Mazda, the holy angels and the pious dead 
dwell. 4 

The fate of the impious soul is altogether the 
opposite of this. In misery the wicked soul wanders 
about the corpse for three days and three nights. 
On the morning of the fourth day at the passage of 
the Chinvat Bridge, it meets a foul, chilly wind blow- 
ing from the north. In that wind the soul perceives 
its own conscience in the shape of an ugly hag. In 
answer to the soul's question she declares she is the 
embodiment of his evil thoughts, words, and deeds, 
and recites his wickedness upon earth. Through 
three successive steps, the evil soul passes into the 
place of evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds, and 
last of all into the region of eternal darkness, which 

3. Yt. XXII 19-14, Dhi. Main Kd. 11:114-143. 

4. Yt. XXII :i5, 111:4, Vd. XIX :36, Din. M-Kd. 11:145-157, 
Ys. LI:i3, 15, XXXI :2i, XLV:8. 



98 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

is most foul and full of suffering, and the abode of 
Angro Mainyu and his followers. 5 

There is conceived to be a private judgment in 
which man's conscience, personified as a beautiful 
maiden or a horrid hag, described above, is the 
judge. At the Chinvat Bridge, justice is adminis- 
tered to the soul before the three angels Sarosha, 
Mithra, and Rashnu. The good and evil deeds are 
weighed against each other, and decision is rendered 
in accordance with the turn of the scales. If the 
good deeds outweigh the evil ones, the soul is as- 
sisted by the angels and the beautiful maiden into 
Paradise. If not, he is assailed by the demons and 
the ugly hag and is hurried or falls down to hell. 
The Bridge becomes broad to the righteous soul, and 
so narrow to the wicked that the lost soul falls from 
it, and descends through successive stages into the 
wretched abode of Angro Mainyu. 6 In the Gathas 
the idea of a judgment dividing the good and evil is 
clearly conceived. 7 Throughout the Avesta the fu- 
ture condition of the soul is described as a personal, 
conscious experience of happiness or misery. 

There is in the Iranian faith perfect confidence in 
Ahura Mazda's justice. If the wicked prosper in 
this life, it will not always be so. The faithful will 

5. Yt. XXII :iq-36, Din. M. Kd. II :is8-i94, Bund. XXVIII .47, 
Ard. Vf. XVII:2-27, Ys. XLVI:io-ii, XLIXrn , XXXI :20, 
LI:i4. 

6. Vd. XIX:27-32, Din. M. Kd. II 1115-122, 162-163, Bund. 
XII .7. 

7. Ys. XXXIII :i-2, XXX:8-io, XLV:io-i2, et al. 



The Future Life 99 

be delivered from all suffering and have abundant 
happiness in the life to come. Ahura Mazda will 
be absolutely just in his awards to the wicked and 
to the righteous, and a new order of things will be 
established. "I conceived of thee as bountiful, O 
Great Giver, Mazda ! when I beheld thee as supreme 
in the generation of life, when, as rewarding deeds 
and words, thou didst establish evil for the evil, and 
happy blessings for the good, by thy great virtue to 
be adjudged to each in the creation's final change." 8 
Rewards and punishments are self-induced, and this 
follows from the belief in individual responsibility. 9 

The happiness and misery of the next world is 
essentially mental and spiritual. A single illustration 
of the hope of the righteous will indicate this: "And 
now in these thy dispensations, O Ahura Mazda ! do 
thou wisely act for us, and with abundance with thy 
bounty and thy tenderness as touching us; and grant 
that reward which thou hast appointed to our souls, 
O Ahura Mazda ! Of this do thou thyself bestow 
upon us for this world and the spiritual; and now 
as part thereof do thou grant that we may attain to 
fellowship with thee, and thy righteousness for all 
duration." 10 

There are hints of a belief in the resurrection of 
the body in the Gathas, 11 and in all the remaining 

8. Ys. XLIII :5, also 4, 6, XXX :8-io, XLV 7-8, Ys. LI :6, Yt. 
XIX :8o. 

9. Ys. XXXI :20, Ys. XLVIni. 

10. Ys. XL:i-2, also XXXI:20-2i, XXXII :i5, XLV 7, 
XLVI:io-i2, 19, XLIXni. 

11. Ys. XLVI:n, XLIXni, XLV:8. 



100 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

Iranian literature it is clearly set forth. The resur- 
I rection is brought into connection with the regenera- 
tion of the world. "We sacrifice unto the kingly 
glory, that will cleave unto the victorious Saoshyant 
and his helpers, when he shall restore the world, 
which will thenceforth never grow old and never 
die, never decaying and never rotting, ever living and 
ever increasing, and master of its wish, when the 
dead will rise, when life and immortality will come, 
and the world will be restored." 12 At the coming 
and triumph of Saoshyant, a Fragment declares, 
•^"Let Angro Mainyu be hid beneath the earth. Let 
the daevas likewise disappear. Let the dead arise, 
unhindered by these foes, and let bodily life be sus- 
tained in these now lifeless bodies." 13 

The idea of the resurrection's being connected 
with the coming of Saoshyant and the regeneration 
of the world, is parallel to the hopes of the primitive 
and some present day Christians in the expected re- 
turn of Christ. But the underlying features of the 
Zoroastrian eschatology are not late, but belong to 
the oldest teachings of the system. A mighty con- 
flict precedes the end of the world. The powers of 
darkness are arrayed against those of light. The 
fiend-smiting Saoshyant will be completely victori- 
ous. He will renovate the world, make the living 
immortal, and cause the dead to arise. This be- 

12. Yt. XIX:88-89, also n, 19, 23. 

13. Frag. IV 13. See also Bund. XXX :i, 4. Dk. 1X146, 4, Vd. 
XVIII :si. 



The Future Life 101 

lief is throughout the Avesta}* 

For detail and vividness of portrayal, and for 
loftiness of conception, the Zoroastrian ideas of the 
future condition of the individual, of a judgment, 
of future rewards and punishments, and of a resur- 
rection, are far in advance of anything to be found 
in Judaism. Until a late period, Jewish ideas upon 
the future life were exceedingly shadowy. The con- 
ception of Yahveh and nearness to Him, may have 
implied immortality and future blessedness for the 
faithful. That does not concern us. The Jews did 
not see the implication. 

In nearly every religion no matter how rude, there 
is some suggestion of a belief in immortality, though 
often vague and materialistic in form. Without 
such a belief, "religion surely is like an arch resting 
on one pillar, like a bridge ending in an abyss." 15 
Yet among the early Jews there is no definite teach- 
ing concerning immortality, and no hopeful view of 
the future life. Sheol is always spoken of with a 
tone of sadness. It is the final abode of all good or 
bad. Existence there is colorless. It is a place of 
silence and forgetfulness. 16 Faith in Yahveh led 
to individual surmises of a life after death, but these 
gropings are only occasional. 17 They do not repre- 

14. Vd. XIX :5, Yt. XIII 1129, XIX 189, 95-96. Ys. XLV:n, 
LIII:2, XIII 7, LIX 128. 

15. F. Max Muller, "Chips from a German Workshop," vol. 
I, P. 45- 

16. Psa. LXXXVIII:i2, CXV:i7, Job. XIV :2i. 

17. Gen. V:2 4 , II Ki. II:n, IV:35, XIII :2i, I Ki. XVII :22. 



102 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

sent the faith of the people. The earthly life had a 
strong hold upon the Jewish people. Their hopes 
of the future related to the enjoyment of Yahveh 
upon earth and to Israel's glory. 

In the Persian period of Jewish writings a belief 
I in immortality has for the first time taken definite 
form, and this becomes clearer in still later writings. 
There is a growing hope in the future life. "This 
present world is not the end." "There is promised 
us an everlasting hope." 18 There will be happy 
rewards for the righteous and punishments for the 
wicked. 19 All men will be brought to judgment and 
Yahveh will be their judge. 20 

The coming of the Messiah will inaugurate a new 
order of things. There will be "new heavens and a 
new earth." 21 The righteous individual, as well as 
the righteous nation, will receive blessings in the 
Messianic kingdom, and there will be a resurrection 
of the dead. "Thy dead men shall live, together 
with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and 
sing, ye that dwell in dust : for thy dew is as the dew 
of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." 22 
But it is Yahveh not the Messiah who will raise the 
dead. In some of the Psalms there is an intimation 

18. II Esdras VII:ii2, 120, 93-140, VIII:53-55, XIV :35- 

19. Dan. XII:2-3, Enoch. XXXVIII: 1-3, XC:24-26, Ecclus. 
IX:i2, II Esdras XIV :35, Wisd. V:i5-i6. 

20. Judith XVI -.17, Dan. VII 19-10, XII :i4, Psa. XCVI:i3, 
Eccle. XI :9, Enoch X:i-io, II Esdras VII 73, 113-115, Wisd. 
II :22. 

21. Isa. LXV:i7, LXVI:i8-24, Enoch LII:4, LXVI:4 seq. 

22. Isa. XXVI :i9, II Mace. VII 114. Which is of late origin. 
Dan. XII:2-3, Enoch LI 14, LXII:is-i6. 



Tfie Future Life 103 

that the reward of the righteous will be spiritual, 
that there will be mental communion with Yahveh. 23 
The direct and positive teachings concerning the 
future life that suddenly appear in the literature of 
post-exilic times are best accounted for through 
Zoroastrian influence. The Zoroastrian ideas of the 
future life probably date from not later than the 
fifth century B. C, as has been shown. When the 
Jews came into contact with the Persians holding 
with fervor the hope of immortality, they could not 
but ask themselves whether that hope was to be 
discovered in their own religion. Some would refuse 
to acknowledge that the great doctrine was a part of 
the faith, as the later Sadducees. But most of the 
people were eager to accept the new and inspiring 
hope. Their misfortunes made them all the more 
ready to believe in the life to come. As soon as the 
Jews felt that the hope of the future life, had been j 
latent in their faith, and could be developed from 
it, they vied with the Zoroastrians in the earnestness 
with which they maintained it. 24 

23. Psa. XLIX:i5, XVII :i5, XVI:io-ii, LXXI II '.24-28, 
Josephus, Wars, 11:8, 11. 

24. For Jewish and Old Testament ideas of the future life, 
see R. H. Charles, Eschatology, C. H. Joy, Judaism and Chris- 
tianity, pp. 372 seq. T. K. Cheyne in Expository Times, vol. II. 



CHAPTER X 

CONCLUSION 

' I s HE Zoroastrian faith is one of the world's 
A great religions. The purity and ideality of 
Ahura Mazda, the belief in the company of holy 
angels that do his bidding, the expectation of a 
coming Saviour, the high value set upon man, the 
lofty conception of the future life, the final over- 
coming of evil by good, are among the elements of 
strength. The depth of its philosophy, the spirit- 
uality of many of its views, the clearness and purity 
of its ethics, are scarcely equalled by any creed of 
ancient times. In the face of these noble conceptions, 
it is remarkable that what is probably the purest re- 
ligion of antiquity, except the Jewish, should almost 
have perished from the earth. 

But there are some striking elements of weak- 
ness. Ahura Mazda is not almighty. The dualism 
is a leading feature, dualism entering into every 
thing in life. The influence of demons was carried to 
ridiculous extremes, and resembled witchcraft and 
enchantments. The ceremonial and ritual regula- 
tions were cumbrous, and along with lofty and pro- 
found conceptions were often puerile supersitions. 

Judaism came to the conception of Yahveh as the 
supreme Ruler of the universe, and with that their 
responsibility to the nations confronted them. He 

104 



Conclusion 105 

was no longer a tribal God. There was no god be- 
side Him. He was supreme and righteous. The 
spirituality and high ideals of some of the Psalms 
and Deutero-Isaiah, indicate that the ritual worship 
and ceremonial rites were not to all empty forms. 1 
But in their very forms there is a mark of strength. 
They preserved the worship of Yahveh, kept the 
Sabbaths and rest days, guarded the sacred oracles, 
and fostered a high morality. The rise of the syna- 
gogue worship was a valuable force in the religion. 
The people too cultivated love of family and of race, 
and their clannishness was a protection to their faith, i 
The weakness of Judaism lay in misconceptions and 
diverted energies. Yahveh was thought of as Judge, 
and King. Only a few prayed to Him as Father and 
Friend. The hope of a temporal kingdom and earth- 
ly glory crowded out spiritual expectations. The 
ceremonial sometimes was substituted for genuine 
righteousness, and more often ceremonial laws and I 
rites were absurd and harmful. 

It has been pointed out already that the main ele- 
ments of the Zoroastrian faith were for the most 
part fixed before the Persian period of Jewish his- 
tory, and that there was probably no marked in- 
fluence made by the Jews upon the Persian faith. 
The Jews, however, discovering that their rulers had 
many conceptions and teachings similar to, and 
others in advance of their own, would, in receiving 

1. Psa. XL, L, LI, CXX-CXXXIV, Isa. XLVI 13, 4, 12, Isa. 
XLIX:i5, LI, LV, LXI. 






106 Zoroastrianism and Judaism 

and adopting them, easily deduce such teachings and 
conceptions from their own revelation, with no 
thought that they were borrowing. At any rate, 
later generations would think of them as purely Jew- 
ish beliefs. While the germs of the beliefs that came 
into prominence in post-exilic times in Judaism may 
be present in the earlier writings, the germs alone 
are not enough to explain the later developments. 
The explanation is found in the fact that the "germs 
which lay hidden in Judaism were fertilized by con- 
tact with the Persian religion." 2 To this foreign 
contact, therefore, we probably are indebted for 
some of the loftiest and most spiritual conceptions, 
which came into Judaism and passed from Judaism 
into Christianity. The Jews were not only influenced 
by contact with the Persian faith, but by those who 
became converts to Judaism. As to-day a person 
changing from one faith to another decidedly differ- 
ent carries into the new faith some of his old in- 
fluences, so the very fact that many Persians became 
Jews 3 would favor the development or adoption of 
beliefs already latent in Judaism. 

The followers of the Zoroastrian faith probably 
furnished the stimulus for ideas and beliefs that 
otherwise might not have come into prominence. 
These beliefs Judaism preserved and fostered for 
fuller development under the benign influence of 
Christianity. 

2. C. F. Kent, The Jewish People, p. 257. 

3. Esther VIII 117. 



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INDEX 



Ahura Mazda, 41-44, 104 
Alexander, 37 
Almsgiving, 87 
Amesha Spenta, 65-67 
Angro-Mainyu, 68, 98 
Anthropology, 75 
Aryan Influence, 36 

Babylonian Exile, 3034 
Beliefs common to Zoroas- 
trianism, 38 
common to Judaism, 38 

Caste System, 82 
Charity, 86 
Children, 85, 86 
Chinvat Bridge, 97-98 
Civil Laws, 81 
Cyrus, 31, 37, 79 

Darius, 37 
Death, 96 
Diety in pre-Zoroastrian 

times, 45, 46 
Dogs, 87 
Dualism, 51, 52 

Family, 81 
Fire, 88, 89 

Greek Influence, 34 

Holiness, 92-94 



Immortality, 101-103 

Jewish, Priestly Reforma- 
tion, 31 
Jeremiah, 29 
Josiah, 29, 32 
Judaism, beliefs common to, 

38 

fundamental principles, 28 
spirit in, 63-68 
Justice, 98 

Labor, 83 

Magi, 37 

Man, Material and Spirit- 
ual, 75-76 
Marriage Relation, 85 
Material Creation, 69 
Messiah, 79, 80, 102 

Nebuchadnezzar, 30 
Nehemiah, 31 

Ormazd, 37 

Paradise, 96, 97, 98 
Persia, 37 

influence of, 39 
Prayer, 70, 88-90 
Priestly Reformation, 31 
Punishment, 90 
Purification, 88-91 
Purity, 92 



"5 



n6 

Return of Christ, IOO 
Resurrection, 99 

Seana, 27 
Samaritans, 32 
Saviour, Soashyant, 77, 

100 
Sheol, 101 
Sin, 94 
Slavery, 83-84 
Spirits, good, 56,59 

evil, 60, 62 
Synagogue, 33 

Truth, Love of, 93 

Universe, one of order, 
74 



Index 

Virtues, 86 

Woman, place of, 84 

78, Yahveh, 47-49, 50, 104-105 

Zarathustra, early life, 25 
a real character, 23 
date of, 24 
reformer and prophet, 26, 

104 
followers of, 27 
Zoroastrian Religion, chief 
72, characteristics, 37, 38 

beliefs common to, 38 



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